The Yellow & Blue summarized winning their first title of the season. Sfairopoulos: “Every title is essential”. Casspi: “I always try to provide value as I’m on the court. Caloiaro: “We were really motivated to win the cup”
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv captured its 8th Winner Cup and its first preseason title in three years, defeating Hapoel Holon 86:84 in Shlomo Group Arena. The Yellow & Blue achieved its first title of the 2020/21 season after returning from a 13 point margin midway through the second quarter, playing more aggressively in the second half. Omri Casspi was one of the leaders to the comeback, which led the captain John DiBartolomeo and Omri Casspi to lift the cup.
“Every title is essential, you compete in a knockout tournament, and in the end, you play the final to win it. This year the final was played during the season and not in the preseason, so it’s more important for us”, Said head coach Giannis Sfairopoulos after the victory. “Lately, we’ve been playing better, still we can improve, and some of the players can be even better than they’ve performed in the last couple of weeks”.
About the game: “We didn’t start well, in the first couple of minutes, we allowed four offensive rebounds, and we know Holon attacks the boards. In the first half, we had nine turnovers, and that was because we lacked concentration. We calmed down during halftime, and we told the players to play the game and focus on what we need to do on the court. Our defense was excellent, especially in the third period as we allowed only 15 points, which led to the comeback. After that, we played smart until the final whistle, winning a very good team”.
“I didn’t play basketball for 13 months, and I had a lot of thoughts along the way if I could ever play the game again”, Added Omri Casspi after lifting the title. “To play tonight, contribute to the team when we needed the energy, and in the end get the win is a great feeling. I gave a hug to Giannis and told him that we can’t take anything for granted. Last year the season started incredibly, suddenly the injury happened, and I didn’t know if I’ll get to play, so this is touching”.
“I always try to provide value as I’m on the court, especially defensively. When the ball comes to me, I play my game, I try to contribute and help the team. Hopefully, slowly I’ll finish better, and my regular shots will start to fall in”.
“We wanted the cup, adding another trophy, so we were really motivated today”, Related Angelo Caloiaro about the team’s determination coming into the contest. “Last year, we lost at the end, and it left a bad taste for us, so we wanted to win and not sit there on the side and watch another team lift a trophy”.
