Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv secured their second Belgian victory, besting Belgacom Spirou Charleroi 66-64 in a scrimmage game. Rice and Sofo led Maccabi with 10 points each. (Photo by Browet Jonathan)
By Amy Samin
In a dramatic finish, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated Belgacom Spirou Charleroi 66-64 in a scrimmage game in Belgium after leading by double digits earlier in the fourth quarter. Scorers for Maccabi: Rice and Sofo 10 points each, Cohen and Smith 9 points each, Pnini 8 points, Tyus and Ohayon 5 points each, Landesberg 4 points, Naimy and Ingles 3 points each. Shawn James continues to rest his injured ankle. See the full stat sheet here.
Starters for Maccabi were Tyrese Rice, Yuval Naimy, Joe Ingles, Alex Tyus and Sofo Schortsanitis. The game got off to a close start but Ingles put Maccabi up 8-5 after three minutes of action. Ex-Maccabi player Demond Mallet responded in kind, putting the Belgians back on top with a three and 1. Smith scored to give Maccabi a four point lead but the home team scored as the buzzer sounded to end the period with the score tied 14-14.
Charleroi opened the second quarter with a 6-1 scoring run that put them up 20-15. Sofo and Pnini responded, putting Maccabi up 28-26 halfway through the period and forcing the Belgians to call for a time out. Smith continued to score, keeping Maccabi in the lead. Mallet and Charleroi worked to keep it close, and the half ended with Maccabi up by one, 34-33 after a string of points by Jake Cohen.
Although the Belgians scored first at the start of the third quarter, Maccabi answered with 5 straight points that gave them a 42-37 lead three minutes into the period. Neither team added much offensively in the next few minutes, but Smith slipped and landed on his knee and left the game. Cohen and Naimy (from downtown) added to Maccabi’s balance sheet, 53-46 as the period ended.
Maccabi Electra opened the fourth quarter with a fast four points by Sylven Landesberg that put the lead in double digits, 57-46. Rice helped keep that lead, and midway through the final period Maccabi led 62-52. The Belgians didn’t give up, scoring six straight to make things interesting with three minutes left in the game as both Cohen and Ingles fouled out for Maccabi. Charleroi wrapped up an impressive 10-1 run that wasn’t quite enough, and free throws by Rice helped Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeat Belgacom Spirou Charleroi 66-64.
