By Amy Samin<\/FONT> Twenty-four hours before Israeli fans will be able to watch their team play for the first time this season, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv faced SLUC Nancy in the first game of the Angers tournament and defeated their opponent 89 \u2013 86 in front of a crowd of 3,000 in France.<\/FONT> Maccabi opened the game against Nancy with Wisniewski, Eidson, Anderson, Fischer and Lasme. Maccabi got off to a good start in the second period with Limonad making his first appearance, and increased their lead to double digits, 37 \u2013 27 after three minutes. At the half, Eidson led Maccabi in scoring with 13 (3 of 4 from three point range) along with 4 rebounds. Wisniewski, Eidson, Perkins, Lasme and Lampe opened the second half for Maccabi, taking Maccabi to a 54 \u2013 42 lead after two minutes of play. Nancy was able to put a stop to Maccabi\u2019s run, closing the gap to 56 \u2013 48 in just two minutes. Maccabi continued to do well at the start of the final period, when an Israeli quartet (Pnini, Mekel, Limonad and Green) took the team to a quick 78 \u2013 62 lead. Box Scores<\/FONT><\/P> Maccabi<\/B>: Eidson 21 points, 6 rebounds; Fischer 16 points, 6 rebounds; Lasme 13 points, 8 rebounds, Pnini 9 points; Anderson 8 points; Limonad 6 points; Wisniewski 5 points\u2019 Perkins 5 points, 5 rebounds; Lampe 4 points; Green 2 points.<\/FONT> Sharon Drucker<\/B>: \u201cThis was our first practice game, an away game, and all in all we\u2019re satisfied with it. David Federman<\/B>: \u201cI get the feeling we picked a great group of foreign players; they all look good. Maciej Lampe<\/B>: \u201cIt was a weird game, but I\u2019m happy we won because it was the first game. Stephane Lasme<\/B>: \u201cI am supposed to bring the \u201cextra\u201d to the team.
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Wisniewski scored the first points of the game, and together with Anderson took Maccabi to a 13 \u2013 10 lead, but Nancy tied the score at 17 all halfway through the quarter.
Lampe, who came into the game for Fischer, played his first minutes in the yellow and blue.
Maccabi broke ahead with five straight points, 22 \u2013 17, with two minutes remaining in the quarter.
Mekel and Perkins subbed into the game, and through Eidson\u2019s (10 points) ability Maccabi was able to end the first quarter still in the lead, 29 \u2013 25.<\/FONT>
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Fischer got called for his third foul of the game, and Lampe stepped in, as did Pnini.
Lasme shook off his lethargy and showed off his fine talent, on the way to Maccabi\u2019s taking a 42 \u2013 31 lead with four minutes left in the half.
When Lampe racked up his third foul, Yaniv Green entered the game. In spite of the foul trouble of the big men (who were quickly joined by Anderson with three of his own) Maccabi had no trouble staying on top, 44 \u2013 34 with two minutes left before halftime.
Nancy woke up just before the end of the period, closing the gap slightly and setting the score at halftime at 49 \u2013 42.<\/FONT>
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Lasme had 9 points and 6 rebounds, while Anderson and Fischer each contributed 8 points.<\/FONT>
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Maccabi was unshaken, and thanks to Lasme (7 rebounds) was able to maintain a comfortable lead, 68 \u2013 58 with two minutes left in the third period.
Neither team did much to stop the other from scoring, but by the end of the quarter the more talented Maccabi team had regained a double digit lead, 74 \u2013 62, with Eidson leading scorers with 21 points (5 for 10 from three point range) and 6 rebounds.<\/FONT>
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The foreign players got a chance to rest while the Israelis took care of business, keeping a good lead (85 \u2013 74) with 3:30 left in the game.
The French team, which chased after Maccabi the entire game, managed to narrow the gap to 85 \u2013 80 in a minute and a half.
Pnini, with a great foul plus basket play helped put Maccabi up 88 \u2013 80 with 1:20 left on the clock.
Anderson added another point from the foul line, with 50 seconds remaining.
The game ended with Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv putting their first W of the season on the board, 89 \u2013 86.<\/FONT>
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It gave us an indication of how to best combine players on the court.
We\u2019re basically building the foundation, and most of all we want our players to be healthy.
We led the entire game, at one point by 16, so the final score is kind of deceptive.
By the end of the game we weren\u2019t playing the way we wanted to, we eased up a bit which is natural.
We wanted to give every player time on the court.
This time it was Eidson and Lasme who were the standouts, next time it could be someone else.
We\u2019re at the start of a tough series of games; we\u2019re pleased so far and are looking ahead to the next game.\u201d<\/FONT>
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The Israeli players also played and contributed.
Some were excellent, and we\u2019re very pleased with them.
The team we\u2019ve got coming together will be a lot of fun to watch.\u201d<\/FONT>
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Maccabi is a team that suits me very well because I love to run and Maccabi is a team that runs.
I have a feeling that this year I have put my injuries behind me, and will be able to live up to the expectations that people have always had of me.\u201d<\/FONT>
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I am expected to bring a lot of energy, and that\u2019s what I did this time.
Though I\u2019m only 2.03 meters, blocks and rebounds are a central part of my game.\u201d<\/FONT>
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