Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv's tight schedule continues on Monday evening, hosting Ironi Nahariya, as part of a postponed game from the 14th Israeli League fixture (21:00, Live on Sport5 - Channel 55). The Yellow & Blue (12:2 record), coming off a 98:75 win over Bnei Herzliya, will try to maintain their position at the top of the table, securing their seventh straight domestic league win.



For the first time in nearly a year, Giannis Sfairopoulos's squad will receive a boost from the stands as 300 fans will be allowed into Menora Mivtachim Arena under the Ministry of Health guidelines. Maccabi will play again without Scottie Wilbekin, who's sidelined due to a right thumb injury. Othello Hunter, Tyler Dorsey, Omri Casspi, and Yonatan Atias will join the American guard on the sidelines and won't dress for the contest. 

In the first matchup between the Yellow & Blue and the Purples, Maccabi dominated Nahariya 98:81 thanks to a 25 point performance by Elijah Bryant. Since then, Shai Segalovich was handed the head coaching job following Dani Franco's departure, while Michael Young has been their top offensive weapon averaging 16.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

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Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv celebrated the Yellow & Blue fans return to Menora Mivtachim Arena, cruising by Ironi Nahariya 107:63 in an Israeli Winner League completion contest. The 300 supporters pushed Giannis Sfairopoulos's squad to a completely dominant performance, resulting in Maccabi's highest margin win of the season and its seventh straight domestic league victory.

Leading the way once again was Chris Jones, who had an excellent performance scoring 17 points while dishing 7 assists, Oz Blayzer added 16 points, John DiBartolomeo contributed 15 points and 4 assists, and Dragan Bender controlled the paint with 14 points (a perfect 5/5 from 2pt), 5 rebounds and 3 blocks. 

There was also a concerning scene tonight as Yuval Zoosman suffered a knee injury in the first quarter, immediately headed down to the locker room, and didn't return to the remainder of the contest. Number 50 will undergo an MRI to find out the severity of the injury.



Game Recap:

Maccabi started with Chris Jones, Yovel Zoosman, Sandy Cohen, Anglo Caloiaro, and Ante Zizic in the opening five. Ziv Ben Zvi, Malik Newman, Or Leumi, Michael Young, and Joe Alexander began for the Purples.

Jones continued his excellent form contributing 6 of the hosts first 8 points, while Young and Alexander led the visitors to a two-point edge, 8:10. Jones connected for a three-point possession, totaling 9 first-quarter points, Elijah Bryant knocked down a triple, and Oz Blayzer laid in two, giving the Yellow & Blue a three-point margin after 10 minutes, 20:17.

The Israeli champions increased the intensity on both ends of the court, as Bryant's 5 points led to an 8:0 stretch keeping the Purples scoreless for 2 minutes, 28:17. Maccabi continued the run with triples by John DiBartolomeo and Dragan Bender, which increased the edge up to 16. 



DiBartolomeo and Jones laid in back-to-back layups as the last dished an assist to an easy Blayzer layup and blocked Nahariya's final shot concluding a dominant 30:13 quarter, 50:30.

Young totaled 8 straight points to open the second half, but Bryant responded with five of his own, and Jones hit back-to-back buckets retaining a 23 point margin, 61:38. Dori Sahar and Eidan Alber joined the action as Caloiaro, Cline, and Blayzer added to the edge concluding a 20:2 Maccabi run, 75:42 after three quarters. 



The fourth quarter was for the protocol, and the Yellow & Blue had some time for showtime. Jones contributed assists to Bender, who later added his third block on the defensive end. 

Maccabi passed the 100 point mark as Sahar led a fastbreak and lobbed it to Blayzer, who slammed it down with two hands, and Cohen stole the ball from a Nahariya player and showed his hops with a furious two-handed finish. Maccabi sent its 300 fans home happy after a commanding 107:63 victory over Nahariya.

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