With a ticket to the playoffs within reach, and after the fantastic win over Olimpia Milano, Maccabi Playtika Tel-Aviv will face another huge challenge on Thursday (21:00 local, 3 pm ET) when it hosts the most decorated team in European basketball history - Real Madrid.
"I hope we'll feel the same energies and intensity as I did on Tuesday," said Maccabi's coach, Avi Even, ahead of the meeting with the Blancos. "We are playing against one of the best teams in Europe, and we have a lot of respect for Real as a club, but the goal is clearly to win this game".
"It's going to be a tough one. Real is a very good team", added Jalen Reynolds. "We'll have to work hard to get rebounds, be ready mentally and play super aggressive."
After banning the Russian teams from the Euroleague, Maccabi now has a positive 12:11 record, which places the Yellows at seventh place and with real chances of making the top-8.