“Proud how the players fought tonight”

Once again, Maccabi Fox Tel Aviv had to direct through a short roster as Giannis Sfairopoulos’s squad came out of the Konch Arena with an 80:63 victory over Hapoel Be’er Sheva staying perfect in the Israeli league. Jake Cohen excelled, scoring 23 points, grabbing 7 rebounds and dishing 6 assists. Quincy Acy added 18 points and 8 rebounds as his teammate Tyler Dorsey flirted with a triple-double finishing his night with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists.

“After the first quarter, we played really well on defense”, summarized head coach Giannis Sfairopoulos. “We adjusted ourselves to the style of play, and that’s how our defense got better. We didn’t allow them to score points in fastbreaks, and we fought well against the offensive board as they are ranked first in the league. On the offensive end, most of the time, we read well their traps, and for most of the game, we were in control, we played good. I’m very proud of how our players played and fought tonight”.

Towards Zalgiris, Sfairopoulos added: “We will have a deeper roster, we will have a chance to give players a breather and bring them off the bench. We want our fans to join us, we still have open seats on the flight. It’s an important game, and we will need to get ready for it. The newcomers? Jackson is an experienced player. We will teach them the necessary information, and they will be able to give us efficient minutes”.

Jake Cohen, who enjoyed another excellent game, said after the win: “It wasn’t easy. Whoever played out there had to work really hard. Be’er Sheva is tough, and they play in a particular style of basketball. Confidence up? Maybe a bit, when you play a lot of minutes, you get in rhythm. Zalgiris? It’s a tough arena with great fans, and the EuroLeague is really important for us. Each one of the newcomers can help us now, they seem promising”.