Maccabi Elite vs. Tau Ceramica - ShowGame - Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL

May 26, 2013

Top 16 Game 1 - February 15, 2007 CET: 19:45 Local time: 20:45 - NOKIA ARENA

Maccabi Elite 68 - 79 Tau Ceramica

TOP 16, GAME 1

GROUP D

GROUP E

GROUP F

GROUP G

Records

Ave.		Ave.
0-0	Final Four	0-0
0-0	Playoffs	0-0
0-0	Top 16	0-0
1-1	Regular Season	0-1
8-6	Overall	12-2

Referees

Crew Chief

LAMONICA, LUIGI, Italy

Referee

SUTULOVIC, ZORAN, Montenegro

Umpire

CHRISTODOULOU, CHRISTOS, Greece

Team Stats

Ave.		Ave.
87.9	Points	83.2
35.6	Rebounds	32.9
10.0	O. Rebounds	11.6
25.6	D. Rebounds	21.2
15.2	Assists	16.9
11.2	Steals	12.2
2.3	Blocks	2.1
14.4	Turnovers	12.6
52.5 %	2PT	53.5 %
40.0 %	3PT	37.2 %
78.3 %	FT	65.9 %
98.4	Index	91.4

Team Stats - Maccabi Elite

Team Stats - Tau Ceramica

Player Stats

Ave.		Ave.
16.9 / VUJCIC, NIKOLA	Points	16.6 / SCOLA, LUIS
7.9 / VUJCIC, NIKOLA	Rebounds	5.6 / SCOLA, LUIS
1.9 / VUJCIC, NIKOLA	OR	1.6 / TELETOVIC, MIRZA
6.0 / VUJCIC, NIKOLA	DR	4.2 / SCOLA, LUIS
4.4 / VUJCIC, NIKOLA	Assists	5.4 / PRIGIONI, PABLO
1.6 / SHARP, DERRICK	Steals	2.9 / PRIGIONI, PABLO
1.0 / VUJCIC, NIKOLA	Blocks	0.6 / Peker
3.5 / BYNUM, W.	Turnovers	2.1 / Rakocevic
62.5 % / Jasaitis	2PT	92.9 % / PRIGIONI, PABLO
56.0 % / SHARP, DERRICK	3PT	46.2 % / Rakocevic
91.8 % / SHARP, DERRICK	FT	93.8 % / PRIGIONI, PABLO
23.6 / VUJCIC, NIKOLA	Index	18.4 / SCOLA, LUIS

Team Roster - Maccabi Elite

Team Roster - Tau Ceramica

THE TAKE

Another chapter in a budding rivalry will be written on Thursday when Maccabi Elite hosts Tau Ceramica in a Top 16 Group D showdown at Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv, Israel. Not only have these teams both reached the past two Final Fours, but they've met there each time, as well. Maccabi topped Tau 85-70 in last season's semifinals in Prague and 90-78 in the 2005 title game in Moscow. In fact, Maccabi has won the last four meetings between these teams. However, this time Tau arrives with the upper hand after finishing the regular season in first place in Group A with a 12-2 record, compared to Maccabi's 8-6 mark in Group B. Tau will be without head coach Velimir Perasovic, who was hospitalized Monday with chest pains and did not travel to Israel. Assistant coach Nacho Lezcano will take his place on the sidelines and the players will surely be out to win one for their ailing coach. Tau's injured guard Zoran Planinic will also miss the game. Winning in Tel Aviv won't be easy for Tau, since no team has beaten Maccabi at its home in over a year. The game features a clash of two of the top big men in the basketball world, All-Euroleague center Nikola Vujcic, who is the focus of the Maccabi attack, and All-Euroleague power forward Luis Scola, Tau's unstoppable force in the paint. The keys to the game could be inside. Maccabi reserve Noel Felix may see extra minutes in place of rookie Lior Eliyahu and Jamie Arnold in the effort to stop Scola. One tool Maccabi may try is spreading around the fouls, as Tau ranked last in the Euroleague regular season in free-throw shooting with a paltry 65.9%, with Kaya Peker (38.9% FT) and Tiago Splitter (41.0% FT) prime targets. Even without Planinic, Tau boasts a deep and experienced backcourt, led by Pablo Prigioni, Igor Rakocevic, Serkan Erdogan and newcomer Ender Arslan. They will challenge Maccabi's guard rotation of Tal Burstein, Yotam Halperin, Derrick Sharp, Will Bynum and newcomer Goran Jeretin. Maccabi coach Neven Spahija will hope to have an answer for Rakocevic and his 16.4 points per game in Jeretin, as the two were backcourt mates at Crvena Zvezda in 2003-04. Ultimately, the sellout crowd can expect a top-level clash between the two highest-scoring teams of the regular season. Like so many games in the past, this one could be decided by a heroic showing by any of the stars on display. Wednesday, February 14, 2007 Euroleague.net - Yarone Arbel, Tel Aviv - Natxo Mendaza, Vitoria

Another chapter in a budding rivalry will be written on Thursday when Maccabi Elite hosts Tau Ceramica in a Top 16 Group D showdown at Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv, Israel. Not only have these teams both reached the past two Final Fours, but they've met there each time, as well. Maccabi topped Tau 85-70 in last season's semifinals in Prague and 90-78 in the 2005 title game in Moscow. In fact, Maccabi has won the last four meetings between these teams. However, this time Tau arrives with the upper hand after finishing the regular season in first place in Group A with a 12-2 record, compared to Maccabi's 8-6 mark in Group B. Tau will be without head coach Velimir Perasovic, who was hospitalized Monday with chest pains and did not travel to Israel. Assistant coach Nacho Lezcano will take his place on the sidelines and the players will surely be out to win one for their ailing coach. Tau's injured guard Zoran Planinic will also miss the game. Winning in Tel Aviv won't be easy for Tau, since no team has beaten Maccabi at its home in over a year. The game features a clash of two of the top big men in the basketball world, All-Euroleague center Nikola Vujcic, who is the focus of the Maccabi attack, and All-Euroleague power forward Luis Scola, Tau's unstoppable force in the paint. The keys to the game could be inside. Maccabi reserve Noel Felix may see extra minutes in place of rookie Lior Eliyahu and Jamie Arnold in the effort to stop Scola. One tool Maccabi may try is spreading around the fouls, as Tau ranked last in the Euroleague regular season in free-throw shooting with a paltry 65.9%, with Kaya Peker (38.9% FT) and Tiago Splitter (41.0% FT) prime targets. Even without Planinic, Tau boasts a deep and experienced backcourt, led by Pablo Prigioni, Igor Rakocevic, Serkan Erdogan and newcomer Ender Arslan. They will challenge Maccabi's guard rotation of Tal Burstein, Yotam Halperin, Derrick Sharp, Will Bynum and newcomer Goran Jeretin. Maccabi coach Neven Spahija will hope to have an answer for Rakocevic and his 16.4 points per game in Jeretin, as the two were backcourt mates at Crvena Zvezda in 2003-04. Ultimately, the sellout crowd can expect a top-level clash between the two highest-scoring teams of the regular season. Like so many games in the past, this one could be decided by a heroic showing by any of the stars on display.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Euroleague.net - Yarone Arbel, Tel Aviv - Natxo Mendaza, Vitoria

Quotes Head Coaches

SPAHIJA, NEVEN Maccabi Elite "The first game of the Top 16 is always important, especially when you play such a strong opponent like Tau Vitoria. They lost in their national cup, like we did, but we don't count on them being down. It's a very strong and balanced team that finished at the top of Group A and at one point won 10 Euroleague games in a row. We prepared well for the game, we had a lot of time and we are definitely ready. We know how to win the game. They have lots of good players, but the key players are Scola, Rakocevic and Erdogan. We all hope Coach Perasovic will get well soon."

SPAHIJA, NEVEN

Maccabi Elite

"The first game of the Top 16 is always important, especially when you play such a strong opponent like Tau Vitoria. They lost in their national cup, like we did, but we don't count on them being down. It's a very strong and balanced team that finished at the top of Group A and at one point won 10 Euroleague games in a row. We prepared well for the game, we had a lot of time and we are definitely ready. We know how to win the game. They have lots of good players, but the key players are Scola, Rakocevic and Erdogan. We all hope Coach Perasovic will get well soon."

LEZCANO, IGNACIO Tau Ceramica Tau Ceramica head coach Velimir Perasovic was hospitalized and therefore will not attend the team's Top 16 opener in Tel Aviv against Maccabi. "It's a very special game for us. (Not having head coach Velimir Perasovic) was a hard blow. Everything was going fine, but suddenly, you get the bad news. It's hard to face, but there is nothing else to do. Now we must face this situation as naturally as we can. We must prepare the game as if nothing had happened and play as good a game as possible. It seems Perasovic feels a bit better and that's the most important thing. It's not a pleasant situation for me, but in this job you have to be prepared to face almost everything. We must follow the same path we did with Perasovic. We will try not to let this affect us. I think there won't be big changes, as all the previous work will remain the same. Obviously, the players know about how serious is it and that they have to make things work. The game is quite important for our quest in the Euroleague and, in the same way we do when a player gets injured, everyone must take a step forward and try to keep winning."

LEZCANO, IGNACIO

Tau Ceramica

Tau Ceramica head coach Velimir Perasovic was hospitalized and therefore will not attend the team's Top 16 opener in Tel Aviv against Maccabi.

"It's a very special game for us. (Not having head coach Velimir Perasovic) was a hard blow. Everything was going fine, but suddenly, you get the bad news. It's hard to face, but there is nothing else to do. Now we must face this situation as naturally as we can. We must prepare the game as if nothing had happened and play as good a game as possible. It seems Perasovic feels a bit better and that's the most important thing. It's not a pleasant situation for me, but in this job you have to be prepared to face almost everything. We must follow the same path we did with Perasovic. We will try not to let this affect us. I think there won't be big changes, as all the previous work will remain the same. Obviously, the players know about how serious is it and that they have to make things work. The game is quite important for our quest in the Euroleague and, in the same way we do when a player gets injured, everyone must take a step forward and try to keep winning."

Players

HALPERIN, YOTAM Maccabi Elite "It's going to be one very tough game, but we're ready for the challenge. Tau didn't lose many games so far in the Euroleague, but we have a perfect home record, so it's surely going to be a very interesting game. We'll need the support of our great fans in this game from the very first moment, because every point is important. This is how it is in the Top 16: you can't rest for one second. After we lost the Israeli Cup, we need to show we are still in the business, and nothing will be more convincing than a win over a great team like Tau. We'll be ready."

HALPERIN, YOTAM

Maccabi Elite

"It's going to be one very tough game, but we're ready for the challenge. Tau didn't lose many games so far in the Euroleague, but we have a perfect home record, so it's surely going to be a very interesting game. We'll need the support of our great fans in this game from the very first moment, because every point is important. This is how it is in the Top 16: you can't rest for one second. After we lost the Israeli Cup, we need to show we are still in the business, and nothing will be more convincing than a win over a great team like Tau. We'll be ready."

SCOLA, LUIS Tau Ceramica "We must try to put an extra effort, not to think about it too much and try to overcome this in order to win. We must forget his absence, as we always do when a player is missing. Now it was a coach's turn, but we have to go there and forget everything. We know what we have to do, because we have been working in the same way for a long time, so we don't have any excuse to do things wrong. We must wish the best for him and avoid offering the win to him, because I think that would put everyone in the same stressfull and result-dependent situation he should avoid right now. This situation is above sports and basketball. It's about life and is not related to winning."

SCOLA, LUIS

Tau Ceramica

"We must try to put an extra effort, not to think about it too much and try to overcome this in order to win. We must forget his absence, as we always do when a player is missing. Now it was a coach's turn, but we have to go there and forget everything. We know what we have to do, because we have been working in the same way for a long time, so we don't have any excuse to do things wrong. We must wish the best for him and avoid offering the win to him, because I think that would put everyone in the same stressfull and result-dependent situation he should avoid right now. This situation is above sports and basketball. It's about life and is not related to winning."

Tau Ceramica started the Top 16 on the right foot with an impressive 68-79 win over Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv at Nokia Arena on Thursday night. The win broke a streak of losses to the Israeli champs, the last two of which took place at the last two Final Fours. It also ended Maccabi's 15-game home-court winning streak in Euroleague games, which dated back to January 2006. Igor Rakocevic scored 16 of his game-high 19 points in the first quarter as Tau surged ahead. Strong minutes from Nikola Vujcic and Lior Eliyahu led Maccabi back in the second half, but Serkan Erdogan caught fire down the stretch and Rakocevic killed the game with a clutch triple to give Tau a tough road win. The visitors were playing without head coach Velimir Perasovic, who was hospitalized this week with chest pains. Assistant coach Natxo Lezcano picked up the win in his first game on the sidelines. Edogan finished with 14 and Tiago Splitter came off the bench for 12. Tau's star power forward Luis Scola suffered from foul trouble and was held to 8 points in 21 minutes. Eliyahu led Maccabi with 17, Tal Burstein added 13 and Vujcic flirted with a triple double, posting 12 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists. Maccabi came out with a new-look lineup, with Noel Felix and Goran Jeretin starting for the first time all season. The hosts won the opening tip and scored first through a Vujcic hook. Rakocevic put Tau on the board and Kaya Peker soon followed to give the visitors the lead. Vujic fed Felix inside to tie it, but the game was more about defense at this point. Tau was able to shut Maccabi down, with Peker drawing an offensive foul from Jeretin, while Rakocvic's three and Pablo Prigioni's steal and layup quited the crowd and caused Maccabi coach Neven Spahija to take his first timeout with the hosts trailing 4-13. Eliyahu came off the bench and scored on the next two possessions, thanks to dishes from Vujcic and Will Bynum, respectively. Vujcic drilled a triple and Eliyahu drew an offensive foul from Frederick House to get back in the game. Rakocevic and Jeretin traded triples, but Scola's jumper made it 16-23. Vujcic scored and drew a foul from Scola for a three-point play, and after Rakocevic hit a mid-range jumper, Derrick Sharp buried a triple to close the gap to 3, however Rakocevic had the last word, ending the period with a triple over Sharp to make it 24-30. Erdogan started the second for Tau with a triple and then he drove on Vujcic to make it 26-35. Splitter's first hoop then gave the visitors their first double-digit advantage. Maccabi was effective at drawing fouls, but not so much at making the free throws, however the Tau attack slowed with Rakocevic resting. Each team scored only 8 points in the first 8-and-a-half minutes of the period, until Jamie Arnold slammed home Sharp's miss to make it 34-38. Arnold then corrected Vujcic's missed jumper and made the free throw to bring Maccabi within 1, and that's how it remained after 20 minutes, with Tau leading 37-38. Sharp started the second half with a three to give Maccabi its first lead since the first minute. Sharp then drew an offensive foul from Peker and Vujcic threw a no-look pass to Eliyahu to bring the crowd to its feet. House answered with a three, but after Rakocevic stumbled and lost the ball and Eliyahu dunked at the other end, Maccabi was in control. House went baseline, but Maccabi went to Eliyahu again, who scored and drew Scola's third foul, forcing the Tau star to the bench with the hosts on top 48-43. Burstein increased the Maccabi lead to 7 with a pair of free throws midway through the period. Erdogan's triple and then a Peker free throw carried Tau back to within 1 before Arnold, fresh from replacing Eliyahu, sank a one-hander and Jeretin penetrated for 2 more. Burstein's high-flying block of House's break-away layup prevented Tau from tying the score, but instead Erdogan rifled one from long-range to return the lead to the visitors and Splitter slammed one on the offensive glass to put Tau ahead 54-57 with 10 minutes to play. Splitter put a hook over Vujcic to start the fourth, but Burstein quickly answered for Maccabi. Ender Arslan's first points for Tau increased the lead to 6, but on the next play Scola was whistled for his fourth foul and returned to the bench. However even without its star, Tau had a red-hot Erdogan, whose fourth three of the night made it 56-65. After a Tel Aviv timeout, Burstein and Simas Jasaitas brought Maccabi back to minus-5. Splitter scored inside,but the Burstein popped a three and Vujcic drew Splitter's fourth foul and made a free throw to cap an 8-2 spurt as the scoreboard showed 64-67 midway through the fourth quarter. Splitter scored inside and after some Maccabi mis-haps, Peker added one from the line to put Tau up 6 with 4 minutes remaining. Vujcic spotted Sharp for a clutch triple, but Prigioni answered with the same. After Eliyahu made one-of-two from the line, Rakocevic stepped up with his first points since the first quarter to bury Maccabi's last hopes. The hosts last-ditch efforts in the final minute were futile as Tau celebrated a big win to start the Top 16. Thursday, February 15, 2007 Frankie Sachs, Euroleague.net

Tau Ceramica started the Top 16 on the right foot with an impressive 68-79 win over Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv at Nokia Arena on Thursday night. The win broke a streak of losses to the Israeli champs, the last two of which took place at the last two Final Fours. It also ended Maccabi's 15-game home-court winning streak in Euroleague games, which dated back to January 2006. Igor Rakocevic scored 16 of his game-high 19 points in the first quarter as Tau surged ahead. Strong minutes from Nikola Vujcic and Lior Eliyahu led Maccabi back in the second half, but Serkan Erdogan caught fire down the stretch and Rakocevic killed the game with a clutch triple to give Tau a tough road win. The visitors were playing without head coach Velimir Perasovic, who was hospitalized this week with chest pains. Assistant coach Natxo Lezcano picked up the win in his first game on the sidelines. Edogan finished with 14 and Tiago Splitter came off the bench for 12. Tau's star power forward Luis Scola suffered from foul trouble and was held to 8 points in 21 minutes. Eliyahu led Maccabi with 17, Tal Burstein added 13 and Vujcic flirted with a triple double, posting 12 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists.

Maccabi came out with a new-look lineup, with Noel Felix and Goran Jeretin starting for the first time all season. The hosts won the opening tip and scored first through a Vujcic hook. Rakocevic put Tau on the board and Kaya Peker soon followed to give the visitors the lead. Vujic fed Felix inside to tie it, but the game was more about defense at this point. Tau was able to shut Maccabi down, with Peker drawing an offensive foul from Jeretin, while Rakocvic's three and Pablo Prigioni's steal and layup quited the crowd and caused Maccabi coach Neven Spahija to take his first timeout with the hosts trailing 4-13. Eliyahu came off the bench and scored on the next two possessions, thanks to dishes from Vujcic and Will Bynum, respectively. Vujcic drilled a triple and Eliyahu drew an offensive foul from Frederick House to get back in the game. Rakocevic and Jeretin traded triples, but Scola's jumper made it 16-23. Vujcic scored and drew a foul from Scola for a three-point play, and after Rakocevic hit a mid-range jumper, Derrick Sharp buried a triple to close the gap to 3, however Rakocevic had the last word, ending the period with a triple over Sharp to make it 24-30.

Lior Elihayu - Maccabi Elite

Erdogan started the second for Tau with a triple and then he drove on Vujcic to make it 26-35. Splitter's first hoop then gave the visitors their first double-digit advantage. Maccabi was effective at drawing fouls, but not so much at making the free throws, however the Tau attack slowed with Rakocevic resting. Each team scored only 8 points in the first 8-and-a-half minutes of the period, until Jamie Arnold slammed home Sharp's miss to make it 34-38. Arnold then corrected Vujcic's missed jumper and made the free throw to bring Maccabi within 1, and that's how it remained after 20 minutes, with Tau leading 37-38.

Sharp started the second half with a three to give Maccabi its first lead since the first minute. Sharp then drew an offensive foul from Peker and Vujcic threw a no-look pass to Eliyahu to bring the crowd to its feet. House answered with a three, but after Rakocevic stumbled and lost the ball and Eliyahu dunked at the other end, Maccabi was in control. House went baseline, but Maccabi went to Eliyahu again, who scored and drew Scola's third foul, forcing the Tau star to the bench with the hosts on top 48-43. Burstein increased the Maccabi lead to 7 with a pair of free throws midway through the period. Erdogan's triple and then a Peker free throw carried Tau back to within 1 before Arnold, fresh from replacing Eliyahu, sank a one-hander and Jeretin penetrated for 2 more. Burstein's high-flying block of House's break-away layup prevented Tau from tying the score, but instead Erdogan rifled one from long-range to return the lead to the visitors and Splitter slammed one on the offensive glass to put Tau ahead 54-57 with 10 minutes to play.

Arslan, Erdogan and Peker - Tau Ceramica

Arslan, Erdogan and Peker - Tau Ceramica

Splitter put a hook over Vujcic to start the fourth, but Burstein quickly answered for Maccabi. Ender Arslan's first points for Tau increased the lead to 6, but on the next play Scola was whistled for his fourth foul and returned to the bench. However even without its star, Tau had a red-hot Erdogan, whose fourth three of the night made it 56-65. After a Tel Aviv timeout, Burstein and Simas Jasaitas brought Maccabi back to minus-5. Splitter scored inside,but the Burstein popped a three and Vujcic drew Splitter's fourth foul and made a free throw to cap an 8-2 spurt as the scoreboard showed 64-67 midway through the fourth quarter. Splitter scored inside and after some Maccabi mis-haps, Peker added one from the line to put Tau up 6 with 4 minutes remaining. Vujcic spotted Sharp for a clutch triple, but Prigioni answered with the same. After Eliyahu made one-of-two from the line, Rakocevic stepped up with his first points since the first quarter to bury Maccabi's last hopes. The hosts last-ditch efforts in the final minute were futile as Tau celebrated a big win to start the Top 16.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Frankie Sachs, Euroleague.net

Referees: LAMONICA, LUIGI (ITA), SUTULOVIC, ZORAN (MNE), CHRISTODOULOU, CHRISTOS (GRE)

Attendance: 10500

By Quarter	1	2	3	4
Maccabi Elite	24	13	17	14
Tau Ceramica	30	8	19	22

End of Quarter	1	2	3	4
Maccabi Elite	24	37	54	68
Tau Ceramica	30	38	57	79

Head coach: SPAHIJA, NEVEN

Maccabi Elite
#	Player	Min	Pts	2FG M-A	3FG M-A	FT M-A	Rebounds			As	St	To	Bl		Fouls		PIR
#	Player	Min	Pts	2FG M-A	3FG M-A	FT M-A	O	D	T	As	St	To	Fv	Ag	Cm	Rv	PIR
4	BYNUM, WILL	18:00		0/1	0/2			2	2	4		2			3	1	-1
5	FELIX, NOEL	4:00	2	1/1	0/1							1			2		-2
6	SHARP, DERRICK	28:45	9	0/4	3/3		1	2	3	1	2	3			3	1	6
7	VUJCIC, NIKOLA	35:45	12	3/9	1/2	3/5	2	8	10	8	2	1			3	6	25
8	ELIYAHU, LIOR	24:45	17	7/10		3/8	3	4	7	3		3	1		2	6	21
9	ARNOLD, JAMIE	9:45	7	3/4		1/1	1		1			1			2	2	6
10	BURSTEIN, TAL	29:15	13	3/4	1/2	4/4	1	4	5		2	5	1		2	3	15
11	SHASON, SHARON	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
13	JASAITIS, SIMAS	21:00	2	1/2	0/3						2				3		-3
14	GREEN, YANIV	4:00	1			1/2						1			1	1	-1
15	JERETIN, GORAN	16:15	5	1/2	1/2		1	1	2			2			3	1	1
21	HALPERIN, YOTAM	8:30			0/1					1
	Team						1	2	3		6						9
	Totals	200:00	68	19/37	6/16	12/20	10	23	33	17	14	19	2	0	24	21	76
				51.4%	37.5%	60%

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: LEZCANO, IGNACIO

Tau Ceramica
#	Player	Min	Pts	2FG M-A	3FG M-A	FT M-A	Rebounds			As	St	To	Bl		Fouls		PIR
#	Player	Min	Pts	2FG M-A	3FG M-A	FT M-A	O	D	T	As	St	To	Fv	Ag	Cm	Rv	PIR
4	SCOLA, LUIS	20:45	8	3/5		2/3		5	5	1		1			4	3	9
5	PRIGIONI, PABLO	27:45	7	1/2	1/4	2/2	2		2	4	3	2			2	2	10
8	RAKOCEVIC, IGOR	21:15	19	2/3	5/6					1	1	1					18
9	VIDAL, SERGI	17:15	2	1/1	0/2			2	2	1	2	1					4
11	ERDOGAN, SERKAN	26:00	14	1/3	4/8			1	1	2		1			1	4	13
12	TELETOVIC, MIRZA	7:45			0/1			2	2			1			2		-2
14	PEKER, KAYA	26:15	5	1/2		3/8	2	5	7	4	1	2		1	4	7	11
20	ESLAVA, ARIEL	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
21	SPLITTER, TIAGO	24:45	12	5/8		2/5	3	2	5	1	2	3			4	4	11
32	HOUSE, FRED	16:00	9	1/3	1/3	4/6		4	4	2	2	1		1	2	3	10
33	ARSLAN, ENDER	12:15	3	0/1	1/1					1	1	1			2	1	2
	Team						1	1	2		7						9
	Totals	200:00	79	15/28	12/25	13/24	8	22	30	17	19	14	0	2	21	24	95
				53.6%	48%	54.2%

This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

SPAHIJA, NEVEN Maccabi Elite “After 10 days of good practice we expected to play better. We knew Tau is a good team and it will be difficult, but we believed we'll win the game. One more time we couldn't find the momentum and the best five players that will bring us another victory in Euroleague. Congratulations to Tau. They played very consistently. During the game once again we showed two totally different faces. I know that we did very bad job when we lost the cup but after the 10 days I'm really proud of my players. I told my players never to give up and always believe. We can't miss so many open shots and free throws and make many turnovers. Maybe the problem is with me, because in practice it works good. I used all my knowledge in basketball in the last 10 days.”

SPAHIJA, NEVEN

Maccabi Elite

“After 10 days of good practice we expected to play better. We knew Tau is a good team and it will be difficult, but we believed we'll win the game. One more time we couldn't find the momentum and the best five players that will bring us another victory in Euroleague. Congratulations to Tau. They played very consistently. During the game once again we showed two totally different faces. I know that we did very bad job when we lost the cup but after the 10 days I'm really proud of my players. I told my players never to give up and always believe. We can't miss so many open shots and free throws and make many turnovers. Maybe the problem is with me, because in practice it works good. I used all my knowledge in basketball in the last 10 days.”

LEZCANO, IGNACIO Tau Ceramica "We scored a lot of points in the first quarter, but it's not the way we wanted to play. In the second quarter we played better defense but we didn't score well. We knew that if we allow an offensive style game with 100 points, we would have probably lost. We prepared to play with more patience and tough defense. That's what we did in the last two quarters. All my players played very good, and I'm very happy. Igor Rakocevic didn't play the defense I wanted him to play, although he scored many points. It wasn't the kind of game that I wanted to play."

LEZCANO, IGNACIO

Tau Ceramica

"We scored a lot of points in the first quarter, but it's not the way we wanted to play. In the second quarter we played better defense but we didn't score well. We knew that if we allow an offensive style game with 100 points, we would have probably lost. We prepared to play with more patience and tough defense. That's what we did in the last two quarters. All my players played very good, and I'm very happy. Igor Rakocevic didn't play the defense I wanted him to play, although he scored many points. It wasn't the kind of game that I wanted to play."

Players

VUJCIC, NIKOLA Maccabi Elite “We put ourselves in a very difficult situation, for sure if we want to win the first place in the group. There are still five more games to go and it's not over. They scored in crazy percentages from the field, especially in the first and last momemnts of the game. They are a very good team, and we tried to do our best. I don't believe it's the best we can play, we can still improve.”

VUJCIC, NIKOLA

Maccabi Elite

“We put ourselves in a very difficult situation, for sure if we want to win the first place in the group. There are still five more games to go and it's not over. They scored in crazy percentages from the field, especially in the first and last momemnts of the game. They are a very good team, and we tried to do our best. I don't believe it's the best we can play, we can still improve.”

HOUSE, FRED Tau Ceramica “It feels very good to win on their court. We are putting ourselves in a good position for first place. I don't think it was easy. They had six people around the court – five players and the sixth was the their crowd who made it very difficult for us. I think that we did good down the stretch. It's never the end for Maccabi. It is a great team and a great name. Even though Parker and Maceo went to the NBA, they have a good team. It's been kind of hard for them to fill the places with new players, but there's till time to improve. It's not how you start, it's how you finish.”

HOUSE, FRED

Tau Ceramica

“It feels very good to win on their court. We are putting ourselves in a good position for first place. I don't think it was easy. They had six people around the court – five players and the sixth was the their crowd who made it very difficult for us. I think that we did good down the stretch. It's never the end for Maccabi. It is a great team and a great name. Even though Parker and Maceo went to the NBA, they have a good team. It's been kind of hard for them to fill the places with new players, but there's till time to improve. It's not how you start, it's how you finish.”

No pictures yet

There is no video yet

Israel: IBA	Pacific: ESPN, Friday
Spain: ETB 1	United Kingdom: UKTV Slam
Romania: SPORTKLUB	Ireland: UKTV Slam
Hungary: SPORTKLUB	Italy: SKY SPORT EXTRA
Serbia: SPORTKLUB	Scandinavia and Baltics: VIASAT SPORT 3 (Delayed)
Bosnia - Herzegovina: SPORTKLUB	USA: NBATV (Delayed)
Greece: Supersport 7 (Delayed)	Canada: NBATV (Delayed)
Spain: TVE TDP (Delayed)	USA: The Israeli Network (Delayed)
Bulgaria: Ring TV	Canada: The Israeli Network (Delayed)
Atlantic: ESPN, Friday	Philippines: BASKETBALL TV (Delayed)
Iberoamerica: ESPN, Friday