The 83 – 75 loss in Greece came after a poor fourth quarter by Maccabi, who finished third in their group thanks to CSKA’s defeat of Caja Laboral. The Top 16 lottery will take place on Monday.
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<P class=MsoNormal style=”MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt”><SPAN style=”FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE”>By Amy Samin<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style=”MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt”><SPAN style=”FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE”>Andrew Wisniewski, Alan Anderson, Chuck Eidson, David Bluthenthal and D’or Fischer opened for Maccabi, while Maroussi’s starting five were Manos Batis, Jamon Lucas, Kostas Kaimakoglou, Jared Homan and Michalis Pelekanos.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style=”MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt”><SPAN style=”FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE”>Maccabi got off to a good start early in the game thanks to points from Wiz, Fish and Anderson, including a pretty reverse layup by the latter, making it 8 – 4 Maccabi with four minutes gone in the first quarter.<SPAN style=”mso-spacerun: yes”><BR></SPAN>But Maroussi got back into the game with six unanswered points, until a three from Bluthenthal in the corner gave the lead back to Maccabi, 11 – 10 with three and a half left in the period.<SPAN style=”mso-spacerun: yes”><BR></SPAN>A dunk by Fischer and points by Eidson and Bluthenthal put the score at 19 – 12 at the end of the quarter.</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style=”MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt”><SPAN style=”FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE”>Neither team played well at the start of the second period, but Maroussi managed to pull within three, 19 – 16 two and a half minutes into the quarter.<SPAN style=”mso-spacerun: yes”><BR></SPAN>Maccabi picked up the pace, with points in the paint leading up to a 30 – 23 lead for the visitors with two and a half minutes left in the half.<SPAN style=”mso-spacerun: yes”><BR></SPAN>Once again the Greeks got themselves back into the game with outside shooting, and the half ended with Maccabi up by three, 34 – 31.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style=”MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt”><SPAN style=”FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE”>Maroussi quickly tied the game in the opening minutes of the second half, but a key three from Bluthenthal gave Maccabi a slim lead, 39 – 36.<SPAN style=”mso-spacerun: yes”><BR></SPAN>The lead continued to change hands for the remainder of the quarter.<SPAN style=”mso-spacerun: yes”><BR></SPAN>A layup by Yaniv Green off a great pass by <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” /><st1:City w:st=”on”><st1:place w:st=”on”>Anderson</st1:place></st1:City> ended up as a three point play when Green was fouled on the way to the basket, putting Maccabi up 52 – 50 in the final minute of the period. The hosts didn’t let Maccabi capitalize on their lead, and the period ended in a tied score, 53 – 53.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style=”MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt”><SPAN style=”FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE”><o:p><BR></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style=”MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt”><SPAN style=”FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE”>Maccabi took the lead early in the fourth quarter off a three-pointer by Bluthenthal and points from Eidson, but Maroussi came on strong, taking the lead 63 – 58 three minutes into the period.<SPAN style=”mso-spacerun: yes”><BR></SPAN>Maccabi couldn’t seem to stop Maroussi from scoring, and with three minutes left in the game the hosts had taken a double digit lead, 69 – 58.<SPAN style=”mso-spacerun: yes”><BR></SPAN>Doron Perkins gave Maccabi some points from the free throw line, and a three from the top of the arc by <st1:City w:st=”on”><st1:place w:st=”on”>Anderson</st1:place></st1:City> put Maccabi within six, 72 – 66 with less than a minute and a half on the clock.<SPAN style=”mso-spacerun: yes”><BR></SPAN><st1:City w:st=”on”><st1:place w:st=”on”>Anderson</st1:place></st1:City> then fouled out and was replaced by team captain Derrick Sharp, who immediately did what he does best, nailing two shots from downtown.<SPAN style=”mso-spacerun: yes”><BR></SPAN>Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, and the game ended in a win for Maroussi over Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv, 83 – 75.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style=”MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt”><SPAN style=”FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE”>Box Scores<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style=”MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt”><B><SPAN style=”FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE”>Maccabi</SPAN></B><SPAN style=”FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE”>: Perkins 18 points, 5 assists; Anderson 13 points; Bluthenthal 10 points; Eidson, Fischer, Sharp and Wisniewski 6 points each; Lasme 5 points; Green 3 points; Pnini 2 points.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style=”MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt”><B><SPAN style=”FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE”>Maroussi</SPAN></B><SPAN style=”FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE”>: Kaimakoglou 18 points; Homan 14 points; Lucas 12 points; Pelekanos 11 points; Keys and Nadjfeji 10 points each; Mavroeidis 5 points; Calathes 3 points. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style=”MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt”><SPAN style=”FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE”><o:p><BR></o:p></SPAN></P><SPAN style=”FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Batang; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: HE; mso-bidi-language: HE”><A href=”mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]</A></SPAN>
