Regular Season Game 10 - January 03, 2008 CET: 19:15 Local time: 20:15 - ABDI IPEKÇI SPORTS HALL

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
0-0 Playoffs 0-0
0-0 Top 16 0-0
6-3 Regular Season 5-3
6-3 Overall 6-3

Referees

Crew Chief
VOREADIS, LAZAROS, Greece
Referee
LAMONICA, LUIGI, Italy
Umpire
PEREZ PIZARRO, EMILIO, Spain

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
78.4 Points 79.9
33.9 Rebounds 28.7
9.2 O. Rebounds 7.2
24.7 D. Rebounds 21.4
13.4 Assists 18.2
7.1 Steals 11.9
2.7 Blocks 2.7
12.0 Turnovers 13.9
53.5 % 2PT 60.7 %
36.7 % 3PT 36.5 %
72.8 % FT 63.6 %
85.7 Index 90.2

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
16.4 / Nicholas Points 10.9 / BLU, DAVID
6.8 / HUTSON, ANDRE Rebounds 5.3 / MORRIS, TERENCE
2.9 / HUTSON, ANDRE OR 2.3 / Batista
4.4 / WOODS, LOREN DR 3.6 / MORRIS, TERENCE
3.0 / Nicholas Assists 4.2 / HALPERIN, YOTAM
1.1 / PENN, SCOONIE Steals 1.2 / SHARP, DERRICK
1.6 / WOODS, LOREN Blocks 1.6 / MORRIS, TERENCE
2.8 / Nicholas Turnovers 2.8 / BYNUM, W.
65.2 % / GREGORY, WILLIAM KENDRICK 2PT 75.0 % / CASSPI, OMRI
61.5 % / Kuqo 3PT 50.0 % / GARCIA, A
88.9 % / Erdogan FT 100.0 % / SHARP, DERRICK
15.1 / HUTSON, ANDRE Index 13.0 / MORRIS, TERENCE

THE TAKE

Efes Pilsen hosts Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv in a big Group B matchup on Thursday at Abdi Ipekci Arena in Istanbul. The two teams are tied for third place in Group B with 6-3 records and one win less than the co-leaders, but the storyline of this game will be more about the coaches. Maccabi head coach Oded Kattash resigned Tuesday due to the perennial Israeli champion’s struggles in its domestic league, with general manager Tzvika Sherf stepping in for his fifth tour of duty as Maccabi coach. Sherf, also the Israeli national team’s head coach, and Efes Pilsen head coach David Blatt know each other as well as any coaches in the business, and even helped each other scout their opponents at the EuroBasket championships last summer, which Blatt went on to win with Team Russia. Blatt was also the head coach at Maccabi for two seasons and helped the team to a pair of European titles as its top assistant. Maccabi hopes that Sherf will ignite his new troops, who suffered a disappointing home loss to Lietuvos Rytas before the winter break. Meanwhile Efes has gotten hot, winning three in arrow before the break. Blatt’s side has some injury woes, with Drew Nicholas, Serkan Erdogan and Ermal Kuqo all missing recent domestic games. However all but Erdogan are expected to play this week. Maccabi used an 11-0 run spanning the third and fourth periods to come back for a 73-67 win over Efes when they met in November. Esteban Batista came off the bench for 14 to lead Maccabi that game. Andre Hutson scored a season-high 21 that game for Efes. Both teams have extremely deep frontcourts – even though Maccabi’s All-Euroleague center Nikola Vujcic is still sidelined. Loren Woods, Hutson, Kuqo and Kerem Gonlum make up a formidable quartet that Maccabi will counter with Esteban Batista, Marcus Fizer, Terrence Morris and Lior Eliyahu. If Efes can control the glass, small forward Kenny Gregory could make a big impact in the transition game. Even without Nicholas and Erdogan, Blatt has a reliable backcourt with guys like playmaker Scoonie Penn, Rashad Wright and Ender Arslan. The Maccabi rotation at guard features Yotam Halperin, Vonteego Cummings, Will Bynum, Alex Garcia and team captain Derrick Sharp. At face value, Efes seems to have a big advantage in the fact that Blatt knows much of the Maccabi roster quite well. However if Maccabi comes with some extra inspiration under its new boss or injuries caused Efes to use a shorter roster, this game could get very exciting very fast, leaving no result a surprise.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

BLATT, DAVID
Efes Pilsen
"The Efes Pilsen and Maccabi rivalry has been a very good one is the last decade. A lot of great and exciting games and very competitive ones. The first game with Maccabi this year really could have finished either way. And I expect again a close game. It’s a very tough match. And we hope to do a few things a lot better than our first game in Tel Aviv and to win the game against a very strong team like Maccabi."
SHERF, ZVI
Maccabi Elite
"It's not an easy game, but we still have more than 24 hours to prepare and be ready. Obviously with the defense we played on Monday night in the Israeli League, we won't win any game. Defense is the key, surely in the Euroleague, especially against a team like Efes. We need to play better defense, but there are also aspects in our offensive game we'll need to improve."

Players

ABI, MUSTAFA
Efes Pilsen
"First of all, I wish a happy new year to everybody. There’s another very tough game waiting for us. It doesn’t matter if you play at home or away, it’s always hard to play when the opponent is Maccabi Tel Aviv. We had a close game in Tel Aviv in the first game, which we could have won but lost in a dramatic way. Now we are better than before and rising up each game we play. Of course it’s good to play at home. We are trying to move on top in our group and for that reason, we have to keep on winning."
CUMMINGS, VONTEEGO
Maccabi Elite
"It's a very important game. What happened yesterday shouldn't happen. The blame should go to the team and not on Kattash, but it happened and we need to move on and focus on the game and the rest of the season. We'll need to find a way to win. We beat Efes this season already, but that was in Tel Aviv and now we're going to face them in Istanbul. It's their backyard and they'll come ready to protect their house. It's an important game for them just as much and we'll need to find the way to win. Zvika showed he has a good voice in practice yesterday, he was a voice that we needed. He stepped in and demanded things and we felt like we accomplished something."
Will Bynum - Maccabi Elite The newest Zvika Sherf era at Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv got off to the best possible start on Thursday night with a 68-83 road win over Efes Pilsen at the Abdi Ipekci Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. Sherf, who began his fifth term on the perennial Israeli champs’ bench on Tuesday after Oded Kattash resigned as Maccabi head coach, inspired his troops to a big win. Maccabi improved to 7-3 and is now alone in third place in the Group B standings – only one win behind the co-leaders. Maccabi hosts co-leader Unicaja in Tel Aviv next week. Meanwhile Efes lost a Euroleague game at home for the first time this season and slipped to 6-4. Head coach David Blatt’s charges are now tied with Aris TT Bank for fourth place and their chances to get any higher lessened since they have now lost twice to Maccabi. Maccabi enjoyed a stellar night from its big men as Terence Morris turned in 16 points and 19 rebounds and the visitors won the battle of the boards 28-38. Maccabi trailed by 9 late in the first period, but Esteban Batista played a big role in a 0-15 run that bridged the first two periods and gave Maccabi a lead that it never relinquished. Efes never quit and despite trailing by 11 at halftime and 16 early in the second half, got within 54-62 heading into the fourth quarter. However Morris capped a 0-7 start to the fourth with a triple and Maccabi coasted the rest of the way for a big win. Marcus Fizer added 16 points in 20 minutes for Maccabi, while Will Bynum finished with 14 and Yotam Halperin scored 12 and dished 4 assists. Scoonie Penn scored a Euroleague career-high 30 points for Efes, which was without Serkan Erdogan and Drew Nicholas due to injury. Kenny Gregory added 14 in defeat.

It was a balanced start for both sides as Vonteego Cummings opened the scoring race. Efes responded with a 6-0 spurt behind Gregory and Penn. Kerem Gonlum’s dunk made it 11-7 and Gregory’s three-pointer midway through the period gave Efes a 5-point lead. Cummings answered with 3 points and Halperin’s fade away jumper leveled the score for the first time at 14-14. Efes then used Maccabi’s missed attempts and turnovers for 9 unanswered points from Gregory, Penn and Ender Arslan to take a promising lead. However Maccabi needed just 66 seconds to answer with an 0-8 run. In the final minute of the period, a David Bluthenthal three-pointer followed by a Halperin jumper and finally Bynum’s unbelievable three pointer from halfcourt just before the buzzer ended the first quarter with the hosts ahead 23-22.

James Penn - Efes PilsenBatista put Maccabi ahead at the beginning of the second quarter, and he soon hit another layup to complete a 0-15 Maccabi charge for a 23-29 lead. Batista was the key for Maccabi’s offensive as he caused trouble for the Efes defense on every touch. Midway through the period, Batista increased the lead to 6 points once again and then Alex Garcia stretched it to 9 points with a three-pointer. Efes tried to stand strong on offence through Penn, while Bynum and Garcia kept the difference at the same level for Tel Aviv. Halperin gave a bonus to Maccabi from the free throw line to help his team to go to the dressing rooms leading 34-45.

Maccabi had an impressive start to the second half. Morris decorated his great efforts on defense with a triple to put the visitors up 34-50. Meanwhile Efes struggled to score inside and just tried to push the game with the individual efforts of Gregory and Penn. Loren Woods tried to get the hosts going after Marcus Fizer’s fourth foul came just four minutes into the third quarter. Efes put a little pressure on the game and Woods made it 48-58 with a dunk on Morris. Penn’s single free throw cut the gap to 52-60. Ander Hutson missed a tip in the last second of the period and the teams went into the fourth quarter with a 54-62 scoreline.

Maccabi’s winning desire showed itself at the beginning of the last quarter too. Morris’s triple completed a 0-7 start for Maccabi to kill the hopes of Efes. The visitors eased the game by controlling the rebounds and didn’t allow Efes’s comeback to get within more than 8 points. A Morris slam gave Maccabi its biggest lead, 59-76. Penn still pushed Efes on and hit a triple to make it 68-77 with two minutes to go, but Maccabi scored the game’s last 6 points to ice an important road win.

Thursday, January 03, 2008
Gokhan Ture, Istanbul
Referees: VOREADIS, LAZAROS (GRE), LAMONICA, LUIGI (ITA), PEREZ PIZARRO, EMILIO (ESP)
Attendance: 5000
By Quarter1234
Efes Pilsen23112014
Maccabi Elite22231721
End of Quarter1234
Efes Pilsen23345468
Maccabi Elite22456283
Head coach: BLATT, DAVID
Efes Pilsen
# 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 NICHOLAS, DREW DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
5 PENN, SCOONIE 37:45 30 6/7 4/7 6/9   6 6 3 3 2     2 7 38
6 WOODS, LOREN 22:57 6 1/4   4/7 1 1 2 1 1 2 1   3 5 5
9 GREGORY, KENNY 33:18 14 4/7 2/2     5 5     3   1 1 1 12
10 ABI, MUSTAFA 2:47                   1         -1
11 PACUN, BORA HUN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12 GONLUM, KEREM 17:20 2 1/4     2 3 5     1   1   2 4
13 WRIGHT, RASHAD 26:09 3 0/4 1/3   1   1 1 1 2     4 2 -4
23 KUQO, ERMAL 12:59 2 1/2 0/3     2 2 1         4   -3
32 HERSEK, BARIS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
33 ARSLAN, ENDER 21:15 2 1/3 0/3           1 2     2 1 -5
34 HUTSON, ANDRE 25:30 9 1/6   7/8 2 4 6 2     1   1 4 15
Team           1   1               1
Totals 200:00 68 15/37 7/18 17/24 7 21 28 8 6 13 2 2 17 22 62
40.5% 38.9% 70.8%
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: SHERF, ZVI
Maccabi Elite
# 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 BYNUM, WILL 27:13 14 3/6 2/5 2/2   1 1 1 1 1     2 3 11
5 FIZER, MARCUS 19:44 16 6/9 1/2 1/2   2 2 2 1 2     4 3 13
6 SHARP, DERRICK 4:02     0/1                       -1
8 ELIYAHU, LIOR DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 MORRIS, TERENCE 40:00 16 3/8 2/4 4/4 7 12 19 2   1 2   3 2 30
11 CASSPI, OMRI DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12 GARCIA, ALEX 16:25 5 1/1 1/1 0/1   3 3 1         2 1 7
13 BLU, DAVID 24:41 6 0/2 2/4     2 2           1 1 4
14 CUMMINGS, VONTEEGO 17:24 5 1/1 1/3     1 1 5   1     3   5
15 BATISTA, ESTEBAN 19:10 9 4/9   1/5 4 3 7 1 1 1   2 4 6 8
21 HALPERIN, YOTAM 31:21 12 2/4 2/3 2/2 1 1 2 4   4     3 1 9
Team           1   1     2         -1
Totals 200:00 83 20/40 11/23 10/16 13 25 38 16 3 12 2 2 22 17 85
50% 47.8% 62.5%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

BLATT, DAVID
Efes Pilsen
"Tonight we were not good enough to challenge in the paint both in offense and defense. We were not good enough to defend inside and also we remained very low scoring in the paint, too. And when you play that poor inside, it's really hard to win. Maccabi played a great game and they deserved to win. Anyway, we stil have important games in front of us. We can compensate this loss at home with the wins on the road. And I believe that we can do it. The absence of Serkan Erdogan and Drew Nicholas is not an excuse for us because we are a good team."
SHERF, ZVI
Maccabi Elite
"First of all, I would like to say that I'm really proud that we beat an opponent which we feel great respect for. Efes built up a great team this year and challenging for the top in our group as one of the best teams. It's really good to beat a tough team on the road like Efes Pilsen. We had a very bad loss in Israeli league at the weekend and we didn't repeat our mistakes. We played really tough both in offense and defense and that was the key for our win. We deserved the win and are happy to go back to Tel Aviv with a great win."

Players

PENN, SCOONIE
Efes Pilsen
"The key of the game was the extraordinary performance of our opponent inside the paint. They played really aggressive and grabbed all the rebounds for second chance. I am the one who grabbed most of the rebounds as the shortest guy of my team and it's quite easy to understand why we lost the game."
HALPERIN, YOTAM
Maccabi Elite
"I'm the happiest guy in the world and we should all feel this way. Not just Zvika but the whole staff too. We play well especially because of our aggressive defense. We need to keep playing like this and to strive for consistency. This was a great accomplishment to beat David [Blatt] and Efes on the road by 15."
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