June 19, 2013
Regular Season Game 1 - October 23, 2008 CET: 18:30 Local time: 18:30 - BASKETBALL CENTER DRAZEN PETROVIC
Cibona 81 - 79 Maccabi Electra

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
0-0 Playoffs 0-0
0-0 Top 16 0-0
0-0 Regular Season 0-0
0-0 Overall 0-0

Referees

Crew Chief
LAMONICA, LUIGI, Italy
Referee
GKONTAS, SPIROS, Greece
Umpire
CONDE, ANTONIO, Spain

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
0 Points 0
0 Rebounds 0
0 O. Rebounds 0
0 D. Rebounds 0
0 Assists 0
0 Steals 0
0 Blocks 0
0 Turnovers 0
0 2PT 0
0 3PT 0
0 FT 0
0 Index 0
Team Stats - Cibona
Team Stats - Maccabi Electra

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
0 Points 0
0 Rebounds 0
0 OR 0
0 DR 0
0 Assists 0
0 Steals 0
0 Blocks 0
0 Turnovers 0
0 2PT 0
0 3PT 0
0 FT 0
0 Index 0
Team Roster - Cibona
Team Roster - Maccabi Electra

THE TAKE

A pair of traditional Euroleague teams will meet at the home of a legend Thursday when Cibona hosts Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv at the Drazen Petrovic Basketball Center in Zagreb, Croatia. Both teams are starting from scratch, despite the fact that Maccabi was last season’s Euroleague runner-up. Maccabi has a new coach, Efy Birenboim, on the sidelines and a new-look squad that is still in the rebuilding stages. Similarly, Cibona shook things up in the offseason and handed the reins to Velimir Perasovic, who added some new and old faces to the roster. As is always the case with teams coming together, the guards play a major role and that is certain to be the case here. Maccabi will unveil its new star at point guard, Carlos Arroyo, who will team with veterans Tal Burstein and Derrick Sharp and newcomers Tre Simmons and Drod Hagag to push Maccabi forward. Another superstar, Euroleague Basketball’s all-time leading scorer Marcus Brown, joined Maccabi this week and will be available, but has not practiced enough with the team to have a true impact yet. For Cibona, veteran Davor Kus and rookie Earl Calloway have shown the potential to be a lethal tandem. Small forward Rawle Marshall and wingers Robert Troha and Branimir Longin give Perasovic all he could wish for from his other guards: ball-handling help, shooting range, hustle and fearlessness. The fact that both teams are led by deep backcourt doesn’t discount their impressive frontcourts. Niksa Prkacin and Luksa Andric team with Franko Kastropil and Vedran Vukusic for the home team, while Maccabi turns to Esteban Batista, Yaniv Green, D’Or Fischer and Lior Eliyahu. Small forward Omri Casspi could be an x-factor for Maccabi, especially if he matches up with Marshall. In fact, the battle at small forward could become one of the keys to the game. Opening on the road could be a blessing in disguise for Maccabi, as Birenboim’s men will have a chance to work out the kinks without the pressure of a sold out Nokia Arena. Cibona won’t have that advantage as it tries to live up to the name of the legendary Petrovic, whose memory will be honored in a pre-game ceremony. Expect a close game that should come down to the wire. Whichever team’s top guard can rally his teammates best by the fourth quarter could be the one walking out the door with a big win.

GAME NOTES

Cibona
  • Cibona has never lost their season opener game in Euroleague history. Four of those eight wins were by a single basket including two homes wins over Tau and one road win against Real Madrid.


Maccabi Electra
  • Four players – D’Or Fischer, Tre Simmons, Rodney White and Jason Williams – are set to make their Euroleague Basketball Debuts in Week 1 at Cibona.
  • Head coach Efy Birenboim will stand on the sidelines of a Euroleague game for the first time in over a decade. He last coached in the Euroleague with Hapoel Jerusalem in the 1997-98 season.
  • Carlos Arroyo will play in his first Euroleague in over six years. Arroyo last played in the Euroleague with Tau Ceramica in February 2002.
  • The best game in Derrick Sharp’s lengthy Euroleague career came against his Week 1 opponent, Cibona Zagreb. Sharp scored 19 points on near-perfect shooting and picked up a career-high 5 steals for a 29 index in a January 2007 game.
  • Marcus Brown, Euroleague Basketball’s all-time leading scorer, needs just 1 free throw in his team’s Week 1 game at Cibona to become the first player to make 600 in his career.
  • Macccabi's season opener record stands on six wins and one loss, but only two of those games were played on the road. Maccabi easily beat Zalgiris in 2004/05 but lost to Tau in Vitoria two years before that.
  • Lior Eliyahu set his all time Euroleague assist record against Cibona with five assists.
  • Esteban Batista set the past season his Euroleague record for defensive rebounds with eight against Cibona.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

BIRENBOIM, EFY
Maccabi Electra
"We left to Zagreb on Tuesday so we still have time there to get ready for the game. We hope to start the Euroleague season with the right foot and promise our fans to give all our efforts to come back with a win. We know they support us all the time, even when we play on the road. I hope Marcus will fit in as fast as possible and learn our plays. On offense he can contribute easily. The problem would be to balance the team on defense. We work on that a lot especially before playing on the road against Cibona, a team that plays very good in their home court with great shooters from long range. We're working all the time and I hope the fans will see it already in the upcoming game."

Players

ARROYO, CARLOS
Maccabi Electra
"Marcus already practiced with us today and was very good. We're all together, one team now anticipating the season to come. I believe the combination will be excellent and hopefully we'll connect as soon as possible. We saw some video of Cibona already and we treat every Euroleague opponent with a lot of respect. I'm very thrilled towards my first official game with the team and first Euroleague game in years. Pre-season is now officially over and there are no more excuses. It's time to play basketball."
Davor Kus - CibonaCibona opened the 2008-09 Euroleague in resounding fashion by downing last season’s runner-up Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 81-79 in Group A on Thursday. It was a special game for Cibona, which paid homage to world basketball icon, the late Drazen Petrovic, in the arena named after him on the night after what would have been his 44th birthday. Cibona visits Le Mans next week while Maccabi welcomes Avellino to Tel Aviv in Game 2. Davor Kus led the winners with 23 points and Rawle Marshall added 20 while Nikola Prkacin had 14 before fouling out for Cibona. D'Or Fischer led Maccabi with 26 points on 11-for-12 shooting. Lior Eliyahu added 14 and Carlos Arroyo had 10 for the guests, despite struggling from the field (2 for 13). Three-pointers by Kus, Marin Rozic and Marshall helped Cibona take a 20-17 edge after 10 minutes, but Yaniv Green and Fischer stepped up for Maccabi, which tied the game at halftime 36-36. Cibona found its go-to guys in Prkacin and Marshall after the break to build a 54-45 lead late in the third. Maccabi threatened and cut the gap to 3, but Kus took over in the final minutes with a reverse layup, free throws and a key three-pointer that sealed the outcome in the final two minutes.

Fischer got Maccabi going with free throws as Cibona struggled to score in the opening two minutes. Eliyahu added a fastbreak layup for a 0-4 Maccabi edge before Marin Rozic stepped up with a jump hook for Cibona. Fischer sank a five-meter jumper and added a tip-in, but Prkacin answered with a pair of baskets to keep Cibona within 6-8. Cibona got its shooters involved as Kus and Rozic sank three-pointers for a 12-8 lead. Fischer kept pacing Maccabi with another basket, but Kus answered from downtown. An unstoppable Fischer scored again and Tal Burstein added a fast break basket to keep Maccabi close. Marcus Brown came off the bench to score his 600th free throw in career history - and his first point with Maccabi. Prkacin and Esteban Batista traded layups before Marshall buried a step-back triple for a 20-17 Cibona edge after 10 minutes.

DOr Fischer and Vedran Vukusic - Maccabi Electra - Cibona Prkacin hit his trademark jump hook early in the second quarter, but Maccabi kept getting Fischer involved and he immediately delivered with a power layup. Even with that Luksa Andric made free throws and then Jared Homan gave the hosts a 7-point lead. Omri Casspi stepped up with a put-back basket, but another Maccabi turnover allowed Marshall to give Cibona a 28-21 edge. Yaniv Green took over with an off-balance shot, which Andric matched with an easy layup. Arroyo followed with an incredible four-point play that ignited the visitors and Fischer added a jumper to bring Maccabi back to life at 30-29. Eliyahu soon scored around the basket to complete the guests' comeback, 31-32. Kus and Rozic tried to change things with free throws, but Green shined with consecutive layups. Kus’s driving layup allowed Cibona to tie the game, 36-36, at halftime.

Maccabi regrouped on defense after the break, playing much more aggressively. At the other end, Fischer made free throws for a 36-38 Maccabi edge. Marshall sank a running triple, but Fischer stayed unstoppable with an alley-oop layup. Prkacin provided a highlight with an outstanding power layup that Fischer erased with a two-handed dunk. Kus scored in transition and fed Prkacin for a layup, good for a 45-42 Cibona edge. Maccabi kept committing turnovers despite slowing down its offense, while a stop-and-pop jumper by Marshall kept Cibona ahead. Andric scored in penetration, Vedran Princ sank a big triple and Kus added a fast break layup to make it a 9-point game late in the period. Maccabi called timeout and Burstein stepped up with free throws that Marshall matched with an impressing driving layup. Eliyahu shined with a put-back basket and Jason Williams buried a corner triple for his first career Euroleague points that got Maccabi within 58-52 heading into the fourth period.

Cibona tried to slow down the game tempo early in the fourth quarter, looking to play even more physical at both ends. Both teams went scoreless for almost two minutes until Marshall made free throws for a 60-52 Cibona margin. Green picked up a loose ball and put it in and Eliyahu added a layup-plus-foul to bring Maccabi back to life at 62-57. Earl Calloway sank a tough jumper and even when Fischer scored again, Marshall helped Cibona regain a 7-point edge. Eliyahu and Brown took over with consecutive layups, but Fischer missed free throws on Prkacin's fifth foul. Kus hit a reverse layup and Marshall nailed a seven-meter bomb to make Maccabi call timeout at 71-63 with under four minutes remaining. Arroyo struck from downtown, but Kus followed free throws with his third triple to make it 76-67, essentially sealing the outcome and allowing all Cibona fans to celebrate a unique win on a very special night for the club.

Thursday, October 23, 2008
Euroleague.net
Referees: LAMONICA, LUIGI (ITA), GKONTAS, SPIROS (GRE), CONDE, ANTONIO (ESP)
Attendance: 4500
By Quarter1234
Cibona20162223
Maccabi Electra17191627
End of Quarter1234
Cibona20365881
Maccabi Electra17365279
Head coach: PERASOVIC, VELIMIR
Cibona
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
 3FG
M-A
 FT
M-A
 Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
4 HOMAN, JARED 23:15 2 0/2   2/2 3 2 5     1 2   2 1 5
5 KUS, DAVOR 32:45 23 4/4 3/6 6/6           6     3 3 14
7 LONGIN, BRANIMIR DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 PRKACIN, NIKOLA 21:48 14 6/9 0/1 2/5 1 3 4 2 1 2     5 6 13
9 TROHA, ROBERT DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11 VUKUSIC, VEDRAN 20:00     0/4   1 6 7 1   2 1   3 2 2
12 ANDRIC, LUKSA 13:23 8 3/3 0/3 2/2 1 2 3 1   2     2 2 7
13 CALLOWAY, EARL 24:53 3 1/2 0/1 1/2       3 1 1     3 1 1
14 KASTROPIL, FRANKO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
19 PRINC, VEDRAN 7:53 3   1/1                   1   2
20 ROZIC, MARIN 23:35 8 1/3 1/2 3/4 2 1 3   3       3 3 10
23 MARSHALL, RAWLE 32:28 20 2/4 3/5 7/8 1 2 3 1 3   2   2 7 29
Team                                
Totals 200:00 81 17/27 8/23 23/29 9 16 25 8 8 14 5 0 24 25 83
63% 34.8% 79.3%
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Head coach: BIRENBOIM, EFY
Maccabi Electra
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
 3FG
M-A
 FT
M-A
 Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
5 BROWN, MARCUS 27:44 5 2/5 0/2 1/2   3 3 1   2   1 3 2 -1
6 SHARP, DERRICK DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 ARROYO, CARLOS 31:56 10 0/5 2/8 4/5   1 1 2 1 3   1 3 6 1
8 ELIYAHU, LIOR 24:55 14 6/9   2/5 4 1 5 1 1 2     2 4 15
9 GREEN, YANIV 15:25 8 4/7     1 1 2 2   1   1 5 2 4
10 BURSTEIN, TAL 24:50 7 1/1 1/3 2/2   1 1 2 1 2     4 2 5
11 SIMMONS, TRE DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12 WILLIAMS, JASON 33:40 4 0/4 1/3 1/2 1   1 2 3 1   2 4 1 -3
13 CASSPI, OMRI 4:34 2 1/1     1   1           1 1 3
14 HAGAG, DROR 2:44                              
15 BATISTA, ESTEBAN 9:52 3 1/2   1/2 3 3 6 1   3     2 1 4
21 FISCHER, D'OR 24:20 26 11/12   4/7 4 3 7     2     3 4 28
Team             2 2               2
Totals 200:00 79 26/46 4/16 15/25 14 15 29 11 6 16 0 5 27 23 58
56.5% 25% 60%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

PERASOVIC, VELIMIR
Cibona
"This victory is of a great importance to us because it will be very hard to beat the top European teams in our group – Olympiacos, Unicaja and Maccabi. This is a good injection of self-confidence, and it can only give us wings to keep working hard. The key was our willingness to play defense, which is not easy against the team like Maccabi that plays real aggressive on offense. In addition, we had several players who played good games tonight, we had Kus and Marshall and Prkacin. It was a blue-collar victory against the team that plays with ease. Calloway played a really good defense against Arroyo."
BIRENBOIM, EFY
Maccabi Electra
"In games like this, it is the little things that decide, and we lost because of those little things. Like the foul shots that we shot 60 percent. We tried a lot, we fought, but it was not enough. We do have lot of new players, and some came only three days ago, but it does not matter. This is basketball and it is my job to put them together as quick as we can. We have to play better on offense and move the ball much better. If we do that every individual will look better."

Players

VUKUSIC, VEDRAN
Cibona
"The key was that we stopped their best player, Carlos Arroyo. He got lost a little bit, he played below what we expected, and probably below what he expected. But that played to our advantage, and the way we were fighting for every ball paid off, as well as our patience on both offense and defense."
FISCHER, D'OR
Maccabi Electra
"My teammates were looking for me. They've seen my jump shot was going in tonight. I tried to be aggressive and it paid off. But it is tough to start the season with a loss. So when we go back to Israel, we've got to take a look at the film, look at our mistakes and try to get better. Nothing really surprised us about Cibona. A couple of our good players were not hitting shots tonight, and sometimes it goes that way. You can factor in lot of things, but it wasn't really our night."
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