Hapoel Tel Aviv sweeps EuroLeague basketball doubleheader, Maccabi Tel Aviv still winless

Hapoel Tel Aviv swept its EuroLeague double week, while Maccabi Tel Aviv’s record dropped to a disappointing 0-3 on the season as it will face Valencia and Milano, respectively, later this week.

Hapoel Tel Aviv downed Real Madrid 102-98 as Elijah Bryant picked up both MVPs of the week and scored with ease in the final frame to break a 75-75 deadlock and notch the win to sweep the EuroLeague double and improve to 2-1.

Dimitrios Itoudis’s team jumped out to a 63-43 lead at the half with Bruno Caboclo, Zach LeDay and Vasilije Micic leading the way, but Theo Maledon, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Walter Tavares all scored to knot the game up by the end of the third quarter. However, Bryant put the Reds on his back in the fourth quarter to lead his side to the victory.

Bryant scored 22 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists; Micic added 22 points, while LeDay and Caboclo both scored 15 points in the win. Maledon scored 26 points, Cabarrot put in 21 points, and Tavares scored 14 points in the loss.

Itoudis talked about the win.

“It looks like we beat Real Madrid in the same game twice. We started the game well both offensively and defensively, and we wanted to not get outscored in transition as they have the tools to run. In the second half, and specifically in the third quarter, we lost the entire lead. We talked about this being a character game and not cracking at the timeout. We analyzed what was going wrong and changed the approach of the attack. This win was important and the way it happened.”

Real Madrid coach reflects on loss to Hapoel Tel Aviv

Real Madrid coach Pedro Martinez discussed the defeat from his side’s perspective.

“Two different halves in this game. The first half we saw bad defense and a slow offense with no rhythm. It was a very bad half. But in the second half, with aggressiveness, we were able to come back and even take the lead, but we had to rotate, and that didn’t work. Hapoel deserved to win the game.”

Meanwhile, Maccabi Tel Aviv fell to Panathinaikos 90-67 to drop to 0-3 on the season and now finds itself at the bottom of the standings.

Oded Katash’s team was without injured big man Daniel Theis, as well as captain John DiBartolomeo, who was attending his brother’s wedding. The yellow-and-blue got off to a brutal start and trailed 25-10 by the end of the first quarter as the Greeks cruised from that point to take the win at the OAKA Arena in Athens.

Roman Sorkin scored 13 points, Keaton Wallace added nine points, and Oshae Brissett scored eight points in the loss, while Gershon Yabusele led the way for Pana with 17 points. Nigel Hayes-Davis scored 13 points, while Sylvain Francisco and Lefteris Mantzoukas scored 11 points each.

Katash lamented yet another defeat.

“It is the third game that we’re losing our structure way too early and the way we want to play. It’s not about the result. We can miss shots, we can lose games. We’re playing against a really good quality team in a tough gym. What worries me is that too early we started having bad body language and a lot of turnovers. We have to learn from this.”

Panathinaikos coach Zeljko Obradovic spoke about the win.

“We played good and we played all 40 minutes. There were some moments when the players relaxed, which is normal, but they like to play. They played like a team, and this is very positive. I hope we continue the same way.”

Iffe Lundberg reflects on Maccabi Tel Aviv’s defeat

Maccabi’s Iffe Lundberg also talked about the defeat.

“I think we play with a lack of energy and lack of intensity along with a lack of execution. I think in all three games, we’ve had a pretty good game plan, but it’s up to us to go out there and execute it. Lucky for us, it’s still early in the season, so there’s no reason to panic. But, obviously, understanding the magnitude of the EuroLeague and the importance of each game. We have to fix it, of course. We still believe, obviously, like I said, because it’s early. So, we just have to lock in, look within and then go out there and do our job.”