{"id":30851,"date":"2011-04-01T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-04-01T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blatt-weve-proven-were-among-the-best-teams-in-europe\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T08:37:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T05:37:55","slug":"blatt-weve-proven-were-among-the-best-teams-in-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/blatt-weve-proven-were-among-the-best-teams-in-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Blatt: \u201cWe\u2019ve proven we\u2019re among the best teams in Europe.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><P><FONT size=2 face=Arial>By Amy Samin<\/FONT> <\/P> <P><FONT size=2 face=Arial>\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of fun, and I\u2019m happy people are enjoying themselves,\u201d said Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv\u2019s head coach <B>David Blatt<\/B> after his team\u2019s victory. \u201cAt the beginning of the year, people didn\u2019t really believe, and we ourselves didn\u2019t really know how far we would go. All year long we\u2019ve been among the best teams in Europe, and we\u2019ve proven that in this series.\u201d<\/FONT> <BR><FONT size=2 face=Arial><BR>Blatt went on, \u201cAll of the credit goes to the players. Jeremy was great, and everyone who played made a difference. We\u2019ll need to compensate for Doron Perkin\u2019s absence in Barcelona.\u201d When asked about Guy Pnini, the coach responded, \u201cThere\u2019s no one like Pnini in the big games. Before every game I have to convince him that this one is the biggest of the season. Pargo took on a lot of responsibility. He\u2019s a great player.\u201d<\/FONT> <\/P> <P align=center><IFRAME title=\"YouTube video player\" height=330 src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HOw7aKzDxbI\" frameBorder=0 width=425 allowfullscreen><\/IFRAME><\/P> <P><FONT size=2 face=Arial>When asked to compare this season with those of the early 2000s, Blatt replied, \u201cIt\u2019s completely different from what I achieved with Pini [Gershon, then head coach of Maccabi] because this is a different and almost completely new team. We\u2019ve done things well and with a lot of enjoyment. We have a group of guys here that are capable of doing wonderful things, things that are not being done by any other team in Europe.\u201d<\/FONT> <BR><\/P> <P><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Currently, the date of the Final for the Euroleague championship is set for the eve of Israel\u2019s Remembrance Day for Fallen Soldiers. When asked about that, Blatt told the reporters, \u201cIf we reach the Final, we won\u2019t play at the hour currently set for the game. We need to see if they\u2019ll be willing to change it.\u201d And there are some regrets: \u201cI\u2019m sorry that we didn\u2019t add another guard, because right now we could use one. No matter what, we have a very high-quality team.\u201d And as for him, personally? \u201cAfter all I\u2019ve achieved in the last 7 years, I don\u2019t need to prove anything.\u201d<\/FONT> <\/P> <P align=center><IMG border=1 hspace=0 alt=\"\" align=baseline src=\"https:\/\/www.maccabi.co.il\/mtpic\/GYI0064150879.jpg\"><\/P> <P><FONT size=2 face=Arial>The person who seemed to be on Cloud 9, as if he\u2019d reached the Final Four for the very first time, was club chairman <B>Shimon Mizrahi<\/B>, who said with tears of joy in his eyes, \u201cI\u2019m very excited. It\u2019s an enormous achievement, to reach the Final Four, without the home court advantage and without Perkins. We\u2019re there, and Olympiacos and Barcelona are both out.\u201d Regarding the issue of whether or not Maccabi will play on Remembrance Day, Mizrahi replied, \u201cGive us a couple of days and all will be well. The subject will be discussed.\u201d<\/FONT> <BR><\/P> <P><FONT size=2 face=Arial>\u201cI believed from the first time I saw the team. We\u2019ve got two more games, and if we keep playing like this we\u2019ll be European champions,\u201d said <B>Jeremy Pargo<\/B>. \u201cIt was a team effort with a lot of great defense. I can\u2019t promise anything. We\u2019ll try and do everything we can to win.\u201d<\/FONT> <BR><\/P> <P><FONT size=2 face=Arial>The guard continued, \u201cWe really wanted to win, and one thing we really didn\u2019t want was to go back to Spain [to play the fifth game of the series in Vitoria]. We need to keep improving as a team. It\u2019s not just my team, it\u2019s Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv. It\u2019ll be tough without Doron but we\u2019ve got a lot of players who\u2019ll step up do all they can to fill Doron\u2019s shoes, even though they\u2019re big ones.\u201d<\/FONT> <\/P> <P align=center><IMG border=1 hspace=0 alt=\"\" align=baseline src=\"https:\/\/www.maccabi.co.il\/mtpic\/GYI0064151857.jpg\"><\/P> <P><FONT size=2 face=Arial>\u201cAt the start of the season we didn\u2019t believe we\u2019d get to this situation, but if we\u2019re already in the Final Four then we want to go all the way,\u201d said <B>Guy Pnini<\/B>, who scored a career-high 22 points. \u201cI\u2019ve never been in a Final Four, so this is a dream come true. I would ask that everyone who can, please come to support us in Barcelona. With our fans, we won\u2019t lose there.\u201d<\/FONT> <BR><\/P> <P><FONT size=2 face=Arial>\u201cIt\u2019s an amazing victory, and we\u2019ve accomplished our goals. I\u2019ve got nothing else to say. We\u2019re going to Barcelona, baby!\u201d said an exuberant <B>Sofoklis Schortsanitis<\/B>. \u201cI\u2019ve believed in this team from the beginning. It was a team effort, and we had a great game. We\u2019ve got a good team, and each of us can pick up the tempo when it\u2019s needed. The goal is to go all the way. Once you\u2019ve made the Final Four, the only way to go is up.\u201d<\/FONT> <BR><\/P> <P><FONT size=2 face=Arial>\u201cHendrix was the key to the victory tonight,\u201d Sofo continued. \u201cHe closed off all the lanes to the basket. We have a lot of depth on our team, and that was one of the main things that got us to where we are now.\u201d<\/FONT><\/P> <P align=center><IMG border=1 hspace=0 alt=\"\" align=baseline src=\"https:\/\/www.maccabi.co.il\/mtpic\/GYI0064151837.jpg\"><\/P> <P><FONT size=2 face=Arial>\u201cWe had a great game,\u201d said <B>Lior Eliyahu<\/B>. \u201cAside from the fact that we need our fans in Barcelona, I advise people to come and travel there, because it\u2019s an amazing place. We won this game without Perkins, and I hope we can keep executing without him. Pargo outdid himself. We\u2019ll have to keep working even harder to make up for his [Perkins\u2019] absence.\u201d<\/FONT> <BR><\/P> <P><FONT size=2 face=Arial>\u201cAfter I won the ULEB Cup with Rytas Vilna, it\u2019d be nice to have a second cup,\u201d said <B>Chuck Eidson<\/B>,<B> <\/B>with his usual flair for the understatement. \u201cI heard that Doron Perkins is coming, and I hope that\u2019s true. If he doesn\u2019t, he\u2019s going to need a good excuse. It\u2019s going to be an interesting Final Four.\u201d<\/FONT> <BR><\/P> <P><FONT size=2 face=Arial>\u201cI think that the greatness of this team is that they know how to step up the intensity when one of the key players is injured and can\u2019t play,\u201d said assistant coach <B>Guy Goodes<\/B>, discussing the absence of Doron Perkins due to a knee injury. \u201cOur team is strong enough, and there are players who will take up the slack. We talked about that, whether the players realized they\u2019d need to give 20 \u2013 30% more. Our hearts were with Doron, and this victory is also for him.\u201d<\/FONT> <\/P> <P align=center><IMG border=1 hspace=0 alt=\"\" align=baseline src=\"https:\/\/www.maccabi.co.il\/mtpic\/GYI0064151448.jpg\"><\/P> <P><FONT size=2 face=Arial>\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter who we\u2019ll face in the Final Four. I also said when we qualified for the Top 16 that we\u2019d take whoever we got,\u201d Goodes added. \u201cFor us, every opponent is the same. I think we deserve to be in the Final Four, and if there\u2019s justice in basketball, it will out. In two games anything can happen, and we can go all the way.\u201d<\/FONT> <BR><\/P> <P><FONT size=2 face=Arial>\u201cI really hope they\u2019ll change the date of the Final. I think they know in the Euroleague that a lot of our fans come to the Final Four and I think there\u2019s a good chance, but I leave that job to Shimon [Mizrahi],\u201d Goodes added. \u201cThey\u2019ve known so far to take it into consideration, so there\u2019s no reason not to.\u201d When asked about Guy Pnini, the assistant coach remarked, \u201cPnini was incredible. He knew he would need to do what he did, he was the X Factor. He guarded well on defense and played like Guy knows how to do.\u201d<\/FONT> <BR><\/P> <P><FONT size=2 face=Arial>\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of fun, it feels like it did in 2004,\u201d said <B>David Federman<\/B>, one of the owners of Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv. \u201cTo be honest, I didn\u2019t believe we\u2019d get to the Final Four, because we built a new team this year. I know that in the Euroleague they are willing to change the date of the Final, but there are things that are up to the media. We\u2019ll know in the next few days.\u201d<\/FONT><\/P> <P align=center><IMG border=1 hspace=0 alt=\"\" align=baseline src=\"https:\/\/www.maccabi.co.il\/mtpic\/GYI0064150923.jpg\"><\/P> <P><FONT size=2 face=Arial>\u201cEverything I do is on a volunteer basis, just like all the rest of the management, and one of our goals is to bring the club to great achievements,\u201d noted Shimon Mizrahi. \u201cWe are in constant contact regarding the issue of changing the date of the Final, and when there is something to announce, we\u2019ll make an announcement. We\u2019re going to play in the semi-final, and God willing, we\u2019ll see what happens after that.\u201d<\/FONT> <BR><\/P> <P><FONT size=2 face=Arial>\u201cI wanted to do my best in the minutes I had, and it was a great game\u201d said <B>Richard Hendrix<\/B>. \u201cTogether, we make this team special. It\u2019d be nice if we had the support [in Barcelona] that we had here tonight. The fans helped us get the win, and it\u2019d be nice if they came to Barcelona. Doron\u2019s a good player and he did great things for us, and I think it\u2019s the character of this team to take up the slack, and tonight we picked up the tempo.\u201d<\/FONT> <BR><\/P> <P><FONT size=2 face=Arial><B>David Blu<\/B> said, \u201cI was happy to contribute, being in the Final Four is a great opportunity and I\u2019m just happy. We really missed having Perkins in the locker room and on the court, and I hope we\u2019ll see him soon. We\u2019re going to keep up the hard work. Right now, we\u2019re one of the four best teams in Europe, but we still have something to prove.\u201d<\/FONT> <BR><\/P> <P><A href=\"https:\/\/www.samintranslations.com\/\" target=_blank><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial><U>www.samintranslations.com<\/U><\/FONT><\/A><FONT size=2 face=Arial> <\/FONT><\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv they\u2019re celebrating the huge victory over Caja Laboral and the fabulous accomplishment of qualifying for the Final Four in Barcelona. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"custom_author":[],"class_list":["post-30851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30851"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":496048,"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30851\/revisions\/496048"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30851"},{"taxonomy":"custom_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/custom_author?post=30851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}