Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv 
Panathinaikos Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv
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DEF OFF TOT
CM RV
FV AG
Panathinaikos
Made/Att
Made/Att
Made/Att
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FV AG
Tonight at 21:00: Maccabi - Panathinaikos
Carrying a four-game winning streak in Europe and an undefeated record at home in the EuroLeague, the Maccabees host the Greeks before Hanukkah. Caloiaro: "It will be a team effort"
Maccabi Fox Tel Aviv will host tonight (21:00, live on Sport5 – channel 55) Panathinaikos as part of the 15th fixture of the EuroLeague season. The Yellow & Blue landed Wednesday evening after the away victory over Zenit St. Petersburg, holding a 10:4 record in the top European competition. On the other end, Pana beat Fenerbahce after a tight clash, as it kept them in fifth place with a 9-5 record.
Once again, Maccabi will miss tonight Omri Casspi, Nate Wolters, Tarik Black, and John DiBartolomeo due to injuries. Aaron Jackson, The new Yellow & Blue signing will join the squad next week.
“We will do our best to be ready. All EuroLeague teams play two games this week, which means everyone is in the same circumstances”, Explained coach Giannis Sfairopoulos concerning the team being fatigued. “We want to come in mentally ready, fighting for our fans that will be pushing us to get the win”.
“They’ve been playing well lately”, said Sfairopoulos about his opponents. “They have good and experienced players that play top-level basketball. They added (Tyrese) Rice and (Jimmer) Fredette, players that add to their team. We need to respect their whole roster, they’ve been the best offensive team this EuroLeague season. We need to fight hard to match up to our standards. Rick Pitino is an excellent coach, as all the European coaches respect him”.
“They have a lot of players. Deshaun Thomas can really shoot the ball, he is a good player. Still, it will be a team effort”, Said Angelo Caloiaro, who scored 20 points and snagged 11 rebounds in the home win over Panathinaikos last season. “The defense is a big difference this season, when you get stops, it’s easier to get on transition. It’s another game, we always focus on the game that is in front of us”.
Maccabi overcomes an 18 point deficit to beat Panathinaikos, 88:79
The Yellow & Blue battle back from an 18 point hole in the second quarter to get the big W. Wilbekin led the charge with 23 points. Next Thursday: Away game vs. Anadolu Efes in Istanbul
Scottie Wilbekin, Yovel Zoosman, Angelo Caloiaro, Quincy Acy, and Othello Hunter opened in the starting 5. The Yellow & Blue got off to a slow start, as ex Maccabi Deshaun Thomas led Pao to an early 15:4 advantage. After eight straight misses from deep, Angelo Caloiaro hit the host’s first three of the contest, however, the greens increased their margin, and a Jacob Wiley slam ended the first quarter, 13:29.
After going down by 18, Maccabi started splashing from deep early in the second quarter, Dorsey with two three’s helped reduce the greek advantage, 27:38. Thomas and Georgios Papagiannis kept scoring for the visitors but, Deni Avidja came up off the bench contributing on the offensive end to close the gap with an 11:4 run at the end of the first half. The Yellow & Blue diminished the greens lead to make it 43:46 at the break, winning the second quarter 30:17.
The greeks opened the second half strong, going on a 9:2 run to gain a 9 point advantage, 45:54. Hunter led the Yellow & Blue’s response with their own 9:3 stretch, 54:57. However, Panathinaikos answered after a Rick Pitino timeout, gaining a double-digit edge, 57:67. The point differential swing continued, as Maccabi was able to cut down the lead to 65:69, heading into the final 10 minutes.
The Yellow & Blue started the final quarter on a different intensity, Dorsey, Wilbekin, and Elijah Bryant hit back to back to back triples to give the hosts their first lead of the night, 79:77. Giannis Sfariopoulos’s squad showed why they are the top defensive unit in Europe, capping a 10:0 run for an 84:77 advantage with Acy leading the way blocking his 5th shot of the night. Panathinaikos had no answer to Wilbekin, who splashed a three almost from the mid-court logo, keeping Maccabi perfect at home in EuroLeague play, 88:79.
