May 25, 2013
Top 16 Game 5 - March 05, 2009 CET: 20:30 Local time: 20:30 - O2 WORLD
Alba Berlin 70 - 76 Maccabi Electra

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
0-0 Playoffs 0-0
0-4 Top 16 1-3
4-6 Regular Season 6-4
4-10 Overall 7-7

Referees

Crew Chief
HIERREZUELO, DANI, Spain
Referee
ROCHA, FERNANDO, Portugal
Umpire
PATERNICO, CARMELO, Italy

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
69.0 Points 80.3
27.7 Rebounds 34.7
7.5 O. Rebounds 9.6
20.2 D. Rebounds 25.1
11.4 Assists 14.5
8.0 Steals 8.6
1.4 Blocks 2.6
13.4 Turnovers 13.8
51.7 % 2PT 55.0 %
35.7 % 3PT 34.6 %
71.1 % FT 75.6 %
67.5 Index 88.7
Team Stats - Alba Berlin
Team Stats - Maccabi Electra

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
13.1 / McELROY, IMMANUEL Points 14.7 / Eliyahu
4.4 / SESAY, ANSU Rebounds 7.6 / Fischer
1.6 / McELROY, IMMANUEL OR 2.3 / Fischer
3.4 / SESAY, ANSU DR 5.3 / Fischer
2.2 / WRIGHT, RASHAD Assists 4.3 / ARROYO, CARLOS
1.5 / McELROY, IMMANUEL Steals 1.3 / ARROYO, CARLOS
0.6 / SESAY, ANSU Blocks 1.7 / Fischer
2.3 / NADJFEJI, ALEKSANDAR Turnovers 2.3 / Eliyahu
56.7 % / HAMANN, STEFFEN 2PT 69.8 % / Fischer
100.0 % / CHUBB, ADAM 3PT 100.0 % / Fischer
88.4 % / McELROY, IMMANUEL FT 100.0 % / HAGAG, DROR
15.9 / McELROY, IMMANUEL Index 21.5 / Fischer
Team Roster - Alba Berlin
Team Roster - Maccabi Electra

THE TAKE

Alba Berlin will look to give its fans a thankyou present as it hosts Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv on Thursday in the final Euroleague home game of its season and the last Euroleague game at the o2 World before this season’s Final Four. The game could be a tension-filed thriller if Real Madrid (4-0) manages to beat Regal FC Barcelona (3-1) on Wednesday in another Group F encounter, as it would be do-or-die for Maccabi (1-3). If Barca loses, Maccabi would remain alive for a Quarterfinal Playoffs berth by beating Berlin and would then host Barca next week with a spot in the playoffs on the line. However if Barcelona wins Wednesday, Maccabi will see its hopes vanish. Alba is winless thus far in the Top 16 and has dropped five in a row overall. The German champs are coming off a 57-75 loss against Barcelona that was their worst result to date at the o2 World. The visitors dominated the paint and outrebounded Berlin 21-34 as they costed to the win. Maccabi fell short 69-73 at home against Madrid to suffer its third loss in a row with the lone bright spot being Carlos Arroyo’s Euroleague career-high 26 points. Maccabi enters this game short-handed with big man D’Or Fischer sidelined due to facial injuries. The game is a clash in styles as Maccabi likes to push the ball and has averaged 80.3 points per game this season, while Berlin prefers a slower pace and is averaging 69 points per game. Maccabi controlled the pace when the teams met in the Top 16 opener in January, winning 96-65 behind 22 and 21 points, respectively, from Lior Eliyahu and Fischer. The battle in the backcourt could once again determine the outcome. Arroyo, who dished a season-high 10 assists against Berlin, leads the Maccabi guard rotation, that also features Marcus Brown at shooting guard and Dee Brown and Derrick Sharp off the bench. Berlin turns to Steffen Hamann, Julius Jenkins and Rashad Wright to share ball-handling duties, while Casey Jacobsen and Immanuel McElroy bring firepower from the wings. Omri Casspi and Tal Burstein are head coach Pini Gershon’s main options at small forward. The power forward matchup promises to be interesting as Eliyahu faces Ansu Sesay, one of the few players in the competition that can match him for speed and size. With Fischer out, Charles Gaines stands to see a lot if time at center, where he’ll encounter Adam Chubb, Aleksandar Nadjfeji and Blagota Sekulic. The result of Wednesday’s game could be the determining factor in Berlin. If Maccabi has what to play for, it will be the aggressor and the favorite against Berlin, but if its fate has been determined, Berlin’s chances to win for the last time at home grow.

GAME NOTES

Alba Berlin
  • Alba has just a single win in its entire history over Maccabi. It took place in its debut Euroleague season, more than 12 years ago, with a 70-65 win in Berlin.
  • Guard Casey Jacobsen has made at least 1 three-pointer in nine straight Euroleague games. He is shooting 45% from downtown in that stretch.
  • Vujcic scored at least 20 points in both of his last two games. It marked the first time he has reached the 10-point mark in back-to-back games since the 2006-07 regular season.
  • Head coach Luka Pavicevic has used the same starting five – Steffen Hamann, Immanuel McElroy, Casey Jacobsen, Ansu Sesay and Adam Chubb – in 13 out of 14 Euroleague games this season.
Maccabi Electra
  • Guard Tal Burstein is closing in on 1,000 points for his Euroleague Basketball career. He enters this week’s game against Alba Berlin with 991 points in 138 career games. He also needs just 2 more three-pointers to reach 100 for his Euroleague career.
  • Guard Marcus Brown needs 29 more points to become the first player in Euroleague Basketball history to reach the 2,500-point mark for his career.
  • Guard Carlos Arroyo scored a Euroleague career-high 26 points in his team’s loss against Real Madrid last week.
  • Forward Lior Eliyahu and injured center D’Or Fischer were two of the trio of weekly MVPs when Maccabi beat Berlin in Week 1 of the Top 16. Eliyahu posted 22 points and 8 rebounds in that win.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

PAVICEVIC, LUKA
Alba Berlin
"We were not one of the teams that had an imperative to go to the next round. Our goal in the Top 16 was always to be as competitive as possible against these teams, which are by many times better than us and that's what we will try to do in our last two games, too. We never forget the games before, but our big loss in Tel Aviv already is five weeks ago, which is a long time. Like happens during every season, many things happened in between and I expect a completely new game on Thursday."
GERSHON, PINI
Maccabi Electra
"We will try to focus on the game after what the team has been through this week. We will know already tonight if we still have a chance to qualify to the quarterfinals, but regardless of the result in Barcelona we need and want to win in Berlin. I'm sure Alba will have great motivation to win its last home game, and we'll need to try and control their energies. We don't have a lot of options inside without Green and Fischer, and we'll have to make the adjustments. I hope each player that will go on court will help with more aggressiveness and go strong for the rebound and give more of himself to cover for the absence of our big guys."

Players

JENKINS, JULIUS
Alba Berlin
"Having won the German Cup over the weekend certainly gave us a boost. We must use this for the game against Maccabi, which remains an important game for us, even if we cannot make it to the next round. In Tel Aviv, we received a huge loss, but what happened in the past happened in the past. We have to focus on what's now and go out for a win in our last home game of the Top 16."
ELIYAHU, LIOR
Maccabi Electra
"The last days weren't easy ones, but we need to put that aside for a few hours and focus on the important game we have against Alba. The big difference from the game in Tel Aviv doesn't reflect the differences between the teams. Alba showed how dangerous they can be, especially in their home court, against great teams. Even with D'or and Yaniv I expected a tough match here, so without them it's even more dangerous. Nevertheless, we are not looking for excuses. I know I will probably have more pressure on me, and maybe I'll play in a role I'm not much familiar with, but every player goes through such experiences in his career. My teammates and I will do the best to get this win, for our fans, us, the team and to cheer up the ones who had to stay home."
Charles Gaines - Maccabi ElectraMaccabi Tel Aviv held off a valiant fight by host Alba Berlin to win 70-76 and keep the German champ from collecting its first Top 16 win. Maccabi came into the game knowing it was already eliminated from the Quarterfinal Playoffs race, but took care of business on the road, improving to 2-3 in Group F. Tel Aviv used a 0-15 third quarter run to grab control of the game. But it watched as Berlin fought back from a 10-point deficit with four minutes left and came within 2 points after an 8-point Maccabi lead in the final minute. But Carlos Arroyo iced the game with 4 foul shots in the final 14.5 seconds. Charles Gaines collected 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead Maccabi, which was playing without D’Or Fischer and Yaniv Green. Veteran Marcus Brown nailed 4 three-pointers in scoring 21 points while Arroyo finished with 14 points and 4 assists. Dee Brown added 13 points and Lior Eliyahu chipped in 6 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 block. Adam Chubb and Immanuel M cElroy both scored 14 points for Berlin with Chubb adding 11 rebounds. Julius Jenkins added 12 points for Berlin, which dropped to 0-5 in the group, failing to give the home fans a good-bye present from the Euroleague.

Adam Chubb - Alba BerlinMarcus Brown's free throw opened the scoring for the guests and Chubb's up and under lay-in was Berlin’s first basket. Gaines scored his first basket of the game in the paint and then Marcus Brown hit a tough layup and converted the three-point play for a 2-6 lead. McElroy’s 2 foul shots and fine pass to Chubb for an easy layup knotted the game at 6-6 and Chubb’s jump hook had the hosts ahead 8-6. Gaines however grabbed his own offensive rebound and put it back and then converted a three-point play before Chubb answered with a tip-in off an Ansu Sesay missed triple. Gaines put down two more free throws for a 10-11 advantage but Jenkins made 2 from the line after an unsportsmanlike foul on Dror Hagag. And then Casey Jacobsen drained a very long three-ball, which went in and out and back in for Berlin’s biggest lead of the period at 15-11. Dee Brown was fouled just before the first quarter whistle and made 2 of 3 foul shots to bring Maccabi within 15-13 after one period.

Dee Brown streaked down the court after a long miss for a layup to start the second quarter and even the game 15-15. But Dragan Dojcin knocked down a three-ball from the right corner for Alba. After 2 Marcus Brown foul shots, McElroy put in a fine layup on a delayed break and Eliyahu hit his first basket of the game on a layup to make it 20-19. Jenkins knocked down another Berlin triple for a 4-point lead, but Eliyahu found Gaines in the lane for an easy layin. Blagota Sekulic's 2 free throws re-established a 4-point cushion, 25-21. But Dee Brown began taking over. He fed Gaines for a driving dunk and then was quicker than the Berlin defense for a driving layup to even the game at 25-25. Aleksandar Nadjfeji made 2 free throws and banked a shot off the glass as Berlin pulled back ahead 29-25. Dee Brown was again too quick with a driving layup. And the game was tied again at 30-30 after Eliyahu's dunk off a turnover. But McElroy's tough baseline jumper gave Berlin a 32-30 lead at intermission.

Marcus Brown - Maccabi ElectraSekulic collected a fine pass into the lane for an easy basket to open the second half. Arroyo finally hit his first points to bring it to 34-32. But he watched Rashad Wright beat him with a cross-over and layup before Jenkins barely fought in an alley-oop on the break for Berlin’s biggest lead of the game, 38-32. Arroyo and Sekulic swapped baskets for a 40-34 Alba advantage. But the veteran Marcus Brown drained back-to-back triples to even the game. Dee Brown knocked down a three of his own and Arroyo's long two-point jumper made it 40-46 and forced a Berlin timeout. But that didn’t help as Marcus Brown hit another triple for a 40-49 lead and completing the 0-15 run. Jenkins stopped the run with a crucial three-ball. And a drive to the basket by Arroyo and a Marcus Brown foul shot had Maccabi up 43-52. Two Chubb free throws and Sesay’s acrobatic put-back trimmed the margin to 47-52 before a long Arroyo jumper just before the buzzer made it 47-54 after three periods.

Gaines started the fourth with a dunk to re-establish a 9-point lead. Wright sandwiched three-pointers from both corners around another Gaines basket in the paint as Alba pulled within 53-58. But Gaines dunked twice more – once at the end of the shot clock and then on the break as the gap was back to 53-62. McElroy tried to get Berlin back in the game and nailed a three-ball to make it 56-62. But a technical foul was called on Alba coach Luka Pavicevic and Marcus Brown made 2 free throws. A layup by Eliyahu had the margin at 10 points with just over four minutes left, 57-67. But Alba refused to go down easily. Jacobsen nailed a three pointer and Chubb put back an offensive rebound. And the gap was back down to 3 points on McElroy’s fast break layup to make it 64-67. But Marcus Brown stepped back and drained yet another three-ball to make it a 6-point game and then fed Gaines for an alley-oop layin for a 64-72 lead with less than a minute left. McElroy put back an offensive rebound and converted the three point play and Jacobsen made it a two point game – 70-72 – after a three-ball with 16 seconds left. But Arroyo made 4 free throws in the final 14.5 seconds to ice the game.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Euroleague.net
Referees: HIERREZUELO, DANI (ESP), ROCHA, FERNANDO (POR), PATERNICO, CARMELO (ITA)
Attendance: 9147
By Quarter1234
Alba Berlin15171523
Maccabi Electra13172422
End of Quarter1234
Alba Berlin15324770
Maccabi Electra13305476
Head coach: PAVICEVIC, LUKA
Alba Berlin
# 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 JACOBSEN, CASEY 26:31 9   3/6     2 2           3 1 6
5 HERBER, JOHANNES DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
6 HAMANN, STEFFEN 9:04           1 1   1       1   1
7 ZWIENER, PHILLIP DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 DOJCIN, DRAGAN 7:24 3 0/1 1/1     2 2               4
9 SESAY, ANSU 16:55   0/2 0/3   1 3 4 2     1   5 1 -2
10 SEKULIC, BLAGOTA 11:15 6 2/2   2/2   1 1             1 8
11 JENKINS, JULIUS 28:27 12 2/4 2/9 2/2   2 2 2   4   2   1 2
12 WRIGHT, RASHAD 24:08 8 1/3 2/4   1 3 4 4   1 1   5 1 8
14 CHUBB, ADAM 25:25 14 5/6   4/8 5 6 11     4     2 6 20
23 McELROY, IMMANUEL 31:08 14 4/6 1/3 3/3 2 2 4 3 1       2 4 20
32 NADJFEJI, ALEKSANDAR 19:43 4 1/4   2/2   4 4 1   5 2   3 3 3
Team           1 2 3           1   2
Totals 200:00 70 15/28 9/26 13/17 10 28 38 12 2 14 4 2 22 18 72
53.6% 34.6% 76.5%
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: GERSHON, PINI
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
4 GAINES, CHARLES 36:29 22 8/11   6/9 5 7 12   1 2     1 7 33
5 BROWN, MARCUS 36:43 21 1/6 4/7 7/9 1 2 3 1   1     4 6 16
6 SHARP, DERRICK 8:49                         2   -2
7 ARROYO, CARLOS 36:02 14 5/14 0/1 4/4   2 2 4 2 1   1 2 4 12
8 ELIYAHU, LIOR 30:32 6 3/12     1 5 6 4 3   1 2 3 3 9
9 GREEN, YANIV DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
10 BURSTEIN, TAL 6:29                 1           1
11 SIMMONS, TRE DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12 BROWN, DEE 24:55 13 4/4 1/3 2/3 1 1 2 1 1 1     3 1 11
13 CASSPI, OMRI 12:10   0/3     1 2 3   2 1 1 1 1    
14 HAGAG, DROR 7:51   0/1                     2   -3
21 FISCHER, D'OR DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team           4 3 7             1 8
Totals 200:00 76 21/51 5/11 19/25 13 22 35 10 10 6 2 4 18 22 85
41.2% 45.5% 76%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

PAVICEVIC, LUKA
Alba Berlin
"I congratulate Pini and his team on a deserved victory. I agree that it wasn't an easy game for both teams, because Alba as well as Maccabi came into it with a lot of regrets. Coming out of a tough weekend with three games in four days, on our side there was a lack of high level energy, that is required for this kind of game. It transferred into a situation, that we in this controlled tempo game could not find our rhythm and turned the ball over too often and shot the ball with bad percentages."
GERSHON, PINI
Maccabi Electra
"In this situation, it was for both teams not easy to play. I believe it was important to win for both teams. In a low-scoring game like this, it is very important to make as few as possible mistakes. We made very few mistakes and this helped us to win the game. I wish Alba and especially Luka to enjoy the rest of the season and to take the championship in Germany."

Players

McELROY, IMMANUEL
Alba Berlin
"We were hoping to get a win in our last Euroleague home game in front our crowd, which supported us in great way throughout the season, but unfortunately we could not get that win in the end. When our three-pointers did not fall against their zone, we had to attack inside to bring them into foul trouble. That helped us to make it a close game, but in the end we came up short in this tough game."
BROWN, MARCUS
Maccabi Electra
"We had no chances to advance any more, but we still have a job to do, to represent ourselves and this club. It was a slow game early, but we were able to pick up the tempo and keep the intensity up and execute down the stretch. I did not get my shots in the first half and missed some close ones early, but when that happens, you just have to be patient, stick with the game and later I got my open looks. It was strange to play without our big fellows, we missed D'Or Fischer and Yaniv Green. We just wish them well and a healthy recovery."
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