Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade
Made/Att
Made/Att
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DEF OFF TOT
CM RV
FV AG
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv
Made/Att
Made/Att
Made/Att
DEF OFF TOT
CM RV
FV AG
Maccabi begins 2025 in Belgrade as Partizan's visitors
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv will play its first game of 2025 on Friday at 9:30 PM (Israel time), as the Israeli champions face Partizan Belgrade in the 19th round of the EuroLeague. Oded Kattash and his players aim to secure a second consecutive victory, but know the challenge will be particularly tough in the cauldron of the Belgrade Arena.
The yellow-and-blue team comes into the game following a significant win against Zalgiris Kaunas in the previous round and another victory in Kiryat Ata in the Israeli league, with new center Trevion Williams making an impact. However, Jasiel Rivero is still not expected to play against Partizan as he has yet to fully recover from a hamstring injury.
?eljko Obradovi?’s Partizan is in excellent form, having won six of their last eight games, improving their record to 8-10. Despite their home court being considered one of the most intimidating in Europe, with 20,000 passionate Serbian fans in the stands, their home record this season is only 5-5.
Partizan underwent a complete roster overhaul during the summer, with every player except center Bal?a Koprivica replaced. Leading the charge is South Sudanese point guard Carlik Jones, who averages 13.6 points and 4.9 assists per game. Center Tyrique Jones, who joined from Anadolu Efes, has also been impressive with 12.6 points and six rebounds per game. Recently, guard Duane Washington has emerged as a key contributor, averaging 18 points per game in the last four rounds.
Obradovi? also has several other dangerous tools at his disposal, including forward Sterling Brown, veteran center Brandon Davies, and French sharpshooter Frank Ntilikina. On the other hand, Serbian guard Vanja Marinkovi? will be absent, and Iffe Lundberg is not at full fitness after missing the team’s recent games.
“There will be many similarities to the game against Zalgiris, especially the two dominant scorers”, predicted Maccabi coach Oded Kattash before the team’s departure to Serbia. “A team that mainly plays simple things but executes them the way most ?eljko teams do, so it needs to start with our defense.”
The first-round meeting between the teams ended with a 91-79 victory for Partizan. This result gave the Serbians a narrow edge in the teams’ head-to-head record since the establishment of the EuroLeague in 2000, with the current tally standing at 9-8 in the Serbs’ favor.
Partizan hands Maccabi big loss to begin 2025
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv began 2025 on the wrong foot, suffering a 75-98 loss on the road against Partizan Belgrade. Oded Kattash’s squad struggled to cope with the high energy and great talent of the Serbian team, who were boosted by the support of 20,000 fans at the Belgrade Arena, and dropped to a 5-14 record in the EuroLeague.
It was a tough evening for the Maccabees, who fell behind early and tried to chase Zeljko Obradovic’s squad throughout. At the start of the second half, it seemed as though Maccabi was making a comeback, thanks in large part to Tamir Blatt’s (16 points) and John DiBartolomeo’s (15) long range shooting. However, after reducing the deficit to 8 points, a local 16-1 sealed the game.
The yellow-and-blue turned the ball over 19 times, their highest tally this season, and enabled Partizan to dish 13 assists. Maccabi, still without big man Jasiel Rivero (thigh), had a poor night from 2-point range, making only 12-of-34 attempts.
On Monday, the Israeli champions will visit Hapoel Afula and will try to bounce back at their expense.
