The Yellow & Blue summarized clinching a spot in the State Cup Semifinal after the win over the Reds. Sfairopoulos: “The team did a great job feeding Zizic inside, always looking for one extra pass”
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv opened 2021 with a masterful home win over Hapoel Tel Aviv, 88:63. With the triumph, Giannis Sfairopoulos’s squad proceeded to the final 4 in the State Cup after Ante Zizic powered his way in the paint with 26 points and 13 rebounds against the Reds, which didn’t have a solution for the Croatian big man.
Angelo Caloiaro added 13 points and eight rebounds, and John DiBartolomeo contributed 7 points, five assists, and four rebounds. The Yellow & Blue next contest will occur on Thursday as they open the second round of the EuroLeague against Alba Berlin.
“We have significant power inside, and we want to take advantage of our big guys, especially Ante, who is a difference-maker”, Said head coach Giannis Sfairopoulos after the victory. “The team did a great job feeding him inside, always looking for one extra pass while controlling the game throughout the whole contest. We’re improving, getting better, but we still have a lot of potential to play even better”.
“It’s fun to play when you are winning as tonight was a really important game for us because you can’t allow yourself to lose in the cup”, Added Ante Zizic after the impressive performance. “We did a great job throughout the whole game, stopping them from grabbing offensive rebounds and stopping their transition game. I want to congratulate my whole team because we did a great job”.
“I’ve been working really hard, and I think right now it’s paying off”, Told the Croatian big man about the dedication of fighting through the start of the season. “My teammates are finding me letting me score some easy baskets and getting me going, so when you have teammates like that who share the ball really well, it’s not a problem to finish with 26 points”.
“From the beginning, we got easy baskets, played good defense, and controlled the game until the end”, Explained Angelo Caloiaro about the keys for the win. “I’ve never won a cup in my career, so personally, I really want to win one. I know its a standard here for the club, Maccabi is very good, and they want trophies. The guys were really motivated coming into the game, and we knew we have to go out and get it, and above all, that was the derby”.
