Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv's excellent team performance led to an impressive road victory over Maccabi Rishon Le'Zion 89:72, which started a stretch of six away games in the Israeli Winner League. With the win, the Yellow & Blue improved their record to 16 wins compared to 3 losses gaining ground at the top of the league standings. On Sunday, the domestic journey continues as Giannis Sfairopoulos's squad heads out to Romema Arena facing Hapoel Haifa. 

The first half belonged to Elijah Bryant, who knocked down 15 points, but the MVP of the night goes to Ante Zizic, who dominated the paint with 20 points (100% from 2PT), nine rebounds, and 4 blocks for a total of 39 PIR points. 



Game Recap

Maccabi opened with Scottie Wilbekin, Elijah Bryant, Oz Blayzer, Othello Hunter, and Ante Zizic as Jeremy Pargo, Noam Dovrat, Noam Avivi, Akil Mitchell, and Darryl Monroe started for Rishon Le'Zion.

Bryant led the Yellow & Blue offense in the first minutes of the contest with back-to-back layups and added a three-pointer scoring 7 consecutive points, and Omri Casspi came on strong off the bench with six points highlighted by a deep step-back jumper, 18:13. Golan Gutt recorded 5 straight points to close out the first 10 minutes, 22:18. 

Chris Jones and ex-Maccabi Pargo exchanged multiple buckets as T.J. Cline finished a fastbreak with a layup, opening a 6 point edge. Maccabi added on to the margin with a 10:2 stretch as Bryant knocked down his third triple of the first half (15 points), giving the visitors a double-digit advantage, 38:27. 



Dovrat kept the Oranges in striking distance with 7 straight points, but Casspi's shot behind the arc provided a 43:34 advantage at halftime.

Giannis Sfairopoulos's squad worked their way inside as Casspi, and Zizic, with a circus shot with the backboard, laid in buckets, and a Wilbekin corner three increased the edge to 14, 52:38. The Yellow & Blue dominant third quarter continued as they fed Zizic in the paint, who totaled 7 of 9 unanswered points, including a three-point possession extending the advantage to 21.



Cline's steal led to easy points on the other end, and Jones knocked down a shot from behind the arc, closing the third quarter with a comfortable 67:47 lead.

Maccabi maintained the double-digit advantage, Blayzer responded with 7 fourth-quarter points, and Zizic added on to his dominant performance totaling 20 points (100% from 2pt). Maccabi cruises by Rishon Le'Zion 89:72.