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    • Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team’s low turnover costs it dearly in Europe – Israel Sports
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    Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team’s low turnover costs it dearly in Europe – Israel Sports

    Umito Posted on

    “I don’t know if I’m more frustrated or more proud,” Oded Katash said immediately afterwards Maccabi Tel Aviv fell to Fenerbahce, 84-82, in the Euroleague this week.

    The answer is simple: it can be both.

    Frustrated because he doesn’t have the tools to win, and proud because his team followed the game plan to a “T” and came so close to victory. But the fence only has horseshoes, as they say.

    Maccabi Tel Aviv controlled the pace of the game for nearly 35 minutes, leading after every quarter and even midway through the final quarter. But with a rotation of just eight players in the first match of a Euroleague doubleheader, facing a squad as complete as Fenerbahce’s was a daunting challenge.

    “In a double week, a lot of teams play with a bigger squad, and we need to do that as much as possible,” Katash said. “We did a great job through three quarters, and I would say we did our best in the fourth, but we lacked energy. A number of players played more than 30 minutes, while Fenerbahce’s quality and depth ultimately made the difference.

    AFTER SPENDING a year on loan in France, American-Israeli Will Rayman is back with Maccabi Tel Aviv and ready to make an impact locally and in Europe. (credit: YEHUDA HALICKMAN)

    Jaylen Hoard played 34 minutes, Levi Randolph 32 and Rokas Jokubaitis 29. In contrast, Fenerbahce’s Tarik Biberovic played 28 minutes, using his fresh legs to score 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, sealing the game. Biberovic scored three straight points to put Fenerbahce ahead at 77-76 with 4:20 to play, and another less than a minute later to extend the lead to four points – a margin that Maccabi did not could not overcome.

    The Turkish team executed throughout the stretch, with Nigel Hayes-Davis, newcomer Skylar Mays and, of course, Biberovic securing the victory. Maccabi had a chance to tie it at 82-82 with a minute remaining, but Saben Lee missed two critical free throws.

    Maccabi have barely used four of their registered players and are still awaiting the return from injury of Tamir Blatt and Wenyen Gabriel. Gabriel may have been available for Real Madrid’s late game on Thursday, but Blatt remains a few weeks away. Katash urgently needs reinforcements to maintain a high level of play over an extended period.

    Will Rayman, in his first Euroleague season, showed tremendous heart and dedication, adding valuable intangibles to Maccabi.

    “It just shows that when we play together and move and communicate on defense, we can be really good,” Rayman noted. “I thought we were a little stagnant in the fourth quarter and we weren’t moving forward as much as we were in the first three quarters. I’m really proud of the guys. We are improving and I think it will come together soon.

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    Completely understandable, given the short rotation.

    Katash’s frustration is justified. Management needs to give him the tools to win games, but they haven’t done so yet. There are plenty of excuses – war, tough market, unavailable players – but these have persisted for months. The club knew it was entering the season with a reduced squad even before Jordan Loyd’s departure. Lee, brought in as a replacement, essentially fills the role of Daryl Macon. Other clubs, such as Hapoel Tel Aviv, have changed their squad to attract new talent.

    The club should take a hard look in the mirror, as the season record was 2-4 heading into Thursday’s game. With a little more firepower or even the presence of Lee, who practiced virtually with the team, Maccabi could have easily gone 4-2.

    “Every defeat is like a missed opportunity, but I especially feel for the players. We were there, putting in a huge effort,” Katash said. “This is the situation we find ourselves in, so we have to focus on our health because some players are logging heavy minutes. I hope we can find someone to strengthen the team and get our injured players back without further setbacks.

    The players left everything on the pitch and their efforts cannot be questioned. But it’s a match that Maccabi should have won, and the players know it. The question is, how much longer can they tolerate the frustration of competing shorthanded?

    “It wasn’t a bad game for us,” said Jokubaitis, returning from a thumb injury. “We have to keep the same pace. If we play with the same mentality, I think we will have our chance. Now we need to rest, learn from our mistakes, and I think everything will be fine.

    The Lithuanian guard was optimistic, offering a glimmer of hope. Yet the reality is that Maccabi faced another match just 36 hours later against Euroleague runners-up Real Madrid, who themselves were coming off a tough defeat to Olympiacos.

    “We were ready for the match but we didn’t succeed. Now we have to focus on the match against Real Madrid,” Jokubaitis added. “Madrid is similar to Fenerbahce in terms of physicality, and we have to respond to that.”

    Will Maccabi be able to compete with Real Madrid, a team that has often proven difficult? Perhaps As Thursday’s clash approached, the question remained whether the yellow and blue could achieve victory on their “home ground” in Belgrade. It’s not impossible, and if Katash could keep his players focused, they certainly had a chance.

    “Even though we only had a few practices with the full team, we fought hard,” Katash said. “It was a tough loss, but we have to stay positive. I am very proud of what we did today.

    Hapoel Jerusalem and Tel Aviv achieve victories

    It was also a busy week for other Israeli teams in European basketball competitions, as both “Red” clubs scored important EuroCup victories.

    Hapoel Tel Aviv defeated Buducnost 92-72, with Johnathan Motley scoring 30 points to lead the team to victory.

    Motley led the way for Hapoel Tel Aviv as Rasheed Sulaimon countered for Buducnost early on. Joe Ragland and Bar Timor started scoring in batches, while McKinley Wright tried to keep the visitors close, but Motley finished the half strong to help take a 46-38 lead. Marcus Foster scored his 3 points and Noam Yaacov added points, but it was Motley who continued to find the bucket to seal the victory.

    In addition to Motley’s 30, Foster added 23 points and Timor scored 10 in the win. Wright and Sulaimon each scored 13 points in the loss.

    “I have to pay tribute to the staff and the fans who came here to support us,” said Stefanos Dedas of Hapoel Tel Aviv. “We deserved the win, but we started the first quarter a little tight and nervous. We won the second quarter 29-16 and the way we played in the second half was solid. We used two styles: one with Johnathan Motley as the target player and Bruno Caboclo to spread the lines. I like to play this way because we can cover all the parameters. I’m satisfied because we beat a very good team.

    Meanwhile, Hapoel Jerusalem cruised to a 94-83 victory over Ljubljana, with Jared Harper unstoppable down the stretch to help the Reds secure the victory and extend their EuroCup record to 4-2.

    Harper set the tone for Jerusalem from the start, with contributions from Chris Johnson and Gabi Chachashvili, while Devin Robinson, Devante Jones and Martinas Geben kept Ljubljana in the game. After taking a 45-36 lead into the break, Khadeen Carrington and Yovel Zoosman continued to score for Hapoel, while Gregor Glas and Jaka Blazic kept the hosts close, before Harper’s decisive goal sealed the tie. victory.

    Harper led with 30 points, while Zoosman added 18 and Carrington scored 17. In the loss, Blazic scored 15 points and Glas added 13.

    “We were missing our two main strongmen,” Jerusalem coach Yonatan Alon said. “We didn’t know how the game was going to play out, but we knew we had to play on the perimeter with the guards, and we tried to make that work. I’m happy we controlled the pace for most of the match and won.

    Elsewhere, Maccabi Ramat Gan came up short against Bonn, losing 86-78, as Shmulik Brenner’s side failed to erase a 17-point first-half deficit, bringing their group stage record down to the Basketball Champions League at 1-2.

    Darius McGhee and Phlandrous Fleming gave Bonn an early lead, and although Amin Stevens and Adam Ariel staged a comeback, it was unsuccessful, handing the Israeli team their second defeat of the season.

    “I’m proud of the guys for the way we fought after digging ourselves into a huge hole in the first half,” Brenner said. “Once we matched their intensity, we were better, but the gap was too big to come back. We will learn from this and come back stronger in the next match.



    Umito
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