Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv returned to action for the first time since the beginning of the war on Wednesday, but could not secure a win. Two weeks without a game and limited practices showed, and the yellows lost 66:75 in Valencia in a game that was originally scheduled to be a home game.

Before the game, the Maccabi players donned black t-shirts with the message #BringThemHomeNow – a call to release the hostages held by Hamas. Players also wrote names of murdered civilians on their shoes, and some marked their wrist tapes with Magen David. A moment of silence was also observed pryor to tip-off.

Oded Kattash’s group struggled to find their rhythm all game long, stifled by Valencia’s stiff defense. Still without injured Wade Baldwin IV (back), Maccabi was led by Bonzie Colson who scored 20 points. Lorenzo Brown added a 13-point, 11-assist double-double, but also gave up the ball 7 times.

Despite their struggles, the Maccabees nearly found a way to come up with the win. A fourth quarter run saw the Israeli champs cut a 12-point deficit to only 3, but it wasn’t meant to be.

On Friday evening, Maccabi will be in Athens to face Panathinaikos.