May 21, 2013
Top 16 Game 4 - March 07, 2007 CET: 20:45 Local time: 20:45 - FERNANDO BUESA ARENA
Tau Ceramica 94 - 73 Maccabi Elite

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
0-0 Playoffs 0-0
0-0 Top 16 0-0
0-1 Regular Season 1-1
15-2 Overall 10-7

Referees

Crew Chief
PITSILKAS, NIKOLAOS, Greece
Referee
BELOSEVIC, ILIJA, Serbia
Umpire
ROCHA, FERNANDO, Portugal

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
84.8 Points 84.9
32.6 Rebounds 35.6
11.1 O. Rebounds 9.9
21.5 D. Rebounds 25.8
16.8 Assists 15.0
12.9 Steals 11.4
1.8 Blocks 2.2
12.2 Turnovers 14.6
54.1 % 2PT 52.8 %
38.6 % 3PT 38.3 %
67.6 % FT 77.6 %
96.2 Index 96.0
Team Stats - Tau Ceramica
Team Stats - Maccabi Elite

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
16.2 / SCOLA, LUIS Points 16.2 / VUJCIC, NIKOLA
5.5 / SCOLA, LUIS Rebounds 8.0 / VUJCIC, NIKOLA
2.1 / SPLITTER, TIAGO OR 1.9 / VUJCIC, NIKOLA
4.2 / SCOLA, LUIS DR 6.1 / VUJCIC, NIKOLA
5.2 / PRIGIONI, PABLO Assists 4.4 / VUJCIC, NIKOLA
2.7 / PRIGIONI, PABLO Steals 1.4 / SHARP, DERRICK
0.5 / Peker Blocks 0.9 / VUJCIC, NIKOLA
2.1 / Rakocevic Turnovers 3.3 / BYNUM, W.
88.2 % / PRIGIONI, PABLO 2PT 64.6 % / Jasaitis
46.7 % / Rakocevic 3PT 54.1 % / SHARP, DERRICK
94.4 % / PRIGIONI, PABLO FT 90.3 % / SHARP, DERRICK
18.6 / SCOLA, LUIS Index 23.3 / VUJCIC, NIKOLA
Team Roster - Tau Ceramica
Team Roster - Maccabi Elite

THE TAKE

The chance for a memorable night before its home fans awaits Tau Ceramica as it welcomes Maccabi Tel Aviv to Martin Buesa Arena in Vitoria, Spain on Wednesday. Not only would a victory make it the first Quarterfinal Playoffs qualifier from Group D, but Tau can in fact clinch first place and the homecourt advantage in the best-of-three quarterfinals if it wins and Pau-Orthez defeats Roma, also on Wednesday. What's more, Luis Scola can become the all-time Euroleague leading scorer if he scores 7 points on Wednesday. Be sure, however, that Maccabi arrives in Spain with revenge on its mind. Maccabi saw its 15-game home winning streak come to an end with a 68-79 loss to Tau in the Top 16 opener last month. Now Maccabi, playing on a Wednesday night for the first time since March 2002 – also against Tau – looks to return the favor and snap Tau's record-tying 25-game homecourt win streak. Tau has thrived despite major distractions so far throughout the Top 16: head coach Velimir Perasovic suffered from heart problems before the first Maccabi game and has now suspended his contract with the club; the second-best scorer in the Euroleague after two Top 16 games, Igor Rakocevic, was injured and remains out against Maccabi; and Zoran Plininic, who missed the first two games with a hand injury, is only returning to form now. Nevertheless, Tau has been in stellar form, topping Pau on the road two weeks ago and setting a Top 16 record with a 43-point thrashing of Roma last week. On the other hand, after losing to Tau, Maccabi struggled a bit but pulled out back-to-back wins against Roma and Pau-Orthez. As always, the Tau-Maccabi matchup centers around a couple of all-Euroleague big men: power forward Scola (16.2 ppg., 5.5 rpg.), Tau's unstoppable force in the paint, and center Nikola Vujcic (16.2 ppg., 8 rpg., 4.4 apg.), who is the focus of the Maccabi attack. While Tiago Splitter (9.7 ppg., 5.6 rpg.) and Kaya Peker have been steady helpers for Scola inside, Maccabi has yet to get a big night simultaneiously from both rookie Lior Eliyahu (11.4 ppg., 4.9 rpg.) and Jamie Arnold (8.4 ppg.). To surprise Scola, Maccabi head coach Neven Spahija started reserve Noel Felix last time versus Tau, but he sat down after 4 uneventful minutes and hasn't played since. Even with its injury woes, Tau boasts a formidable backcourt led by Pablo Prigioni (7 ppg., 5.2 apg., 2.7 spg.), Serkan Erdogan (12.8 ppg.), Ender Arslan (7.3 ppg.), and swingman Fred House (7.2 ppg., 4.9 rpg.). They will challenge Maccabi's guard rotation of Tal Burstein, Derrick Sharp (11.7 ppg., 54.1% 3FG), Will Bynum (10.8 ppg., 2.6 apg.) and Goran Jeretin. Yotam Halperin also returned to the rotation in the Israeli League over the weekend and will be a candidate to play. Anything can happen in this hot matchup between teams that have squared off at each of the past two Final Fours. The talent, depth and passion of both teams is of the highest level and the only remaining question is which team will have more of it on Wednesday.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Euroleague.net - Natxo Mendaza, Vitoria - Yarone Arbel, Tel Aviv

Quotes Head Coaches

LEZCANO, IGNACIO
Tau Ceramica
"Our team's mood is good. We are improving physically and despite Rakocevic's injury, we also recovered players like Vidal or Planinic lately. We are better on defense, too, and that has given us the possibility of playing fluid basketball in offense. It's true that we got two huge wins with big margins against Lottomatica and Unicaja in our last two games, but we all know that each game is totally different and these results wouldn't repeat themselves when we face them in the future. Second-leg games are always different story. Each game is a difficult one, especially in the Top 16, so we know we must take this game modestly, focusing on repeating the things we managed to make work in Tel Aviv. We played a good game there and we won, but this one will be really hard and very different."
SPAHIJA, NEVEN
Maccabi Elite
"Tau has done an amazing thing with its big wins over Roma and Unicaja in the last days, but we're not giving up. We're going to give our best. We are in better shape than we were in the first game against Tau. We'll play there under less pressure and with more confidence. We're going to do things step by step, like always. We didn't qualify yet and first of all we need to win the game, and only then think about the difference. I promise that we won't give up without giving a fight and trying our best. Tau is one of the strongest teams in Europe. They play excellent in the paint and shoot very good from outside. It's never easy to win there, but we are Maccabi Tel Aviv. We never come to a game as an underdog."

Players

PRIGIONI, PABLO
Tau Ceramica
"I think we should be cautious. We were not so bad 15 days ago and we are not so good now. We played two great games against Lottomatica and Unicaja, but it wasn't only because of our merits. Both are going through many ups and downs and that made them give up too early against us. There is not such a big difference between Lottomatica and Unicaja and us. It's true we are improving and that we are playing better. We made a step ahead after this coaching change and I think we should be happy because we were able to keep on working good and go ahead. I don't think we will take the game against Maccabi with anxiety or not seriously. It's a great opportunity for us because we could seal first place in our group and it would be a great reward for everyone after the difficult moments we went through lately. The thing that worries me most about Maccabi is their experience, especially that of players like Sharp, Vujcic, Burstein... they all know what's the taste of glory and now they are going through hard times. That makes them more dangerous because they have time to fix it and for sure they will try to do it."
VUJCIC, NIKOLA
Maccabi Elite
"Tau is the only team that won at Nokia Arena, so we need to show that that game was our mistake. A mistake we can fix. The last two wins gave us confidence, because we showed character in the last minutes and managed to win them. A win at Tau will give us a big advantage, and it doesn't matter how much the difference will be. In the Top16 every basket counts, but first of all you need to win the game. Maccabi and Tau have a great tradition of big games, in Tel Aviv, Vitoria or Final Fours, so we can expect another one. The match up against Scola is always interesting because he's a top-level player. It shows what great competition there is in the Euroleague."
Luis Scola - Tau Ceramica Tau Ceramica clinched first place in Group D and home-court advantage in the Quarterfinal Playoffs with a big win over Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv on a record-breaking night at the Fernando Buesa Arena in Vitoria, Spain. Tau topped Maccabi 94-73 as star power forward Luis Scola scored 25 points to become the all-time Euroleague top scorer. Scola now has 1,998, passing injured Unicaja guard Marcus Brown (1,979). Fittingly, Scola set the mark in front of the third player on the list, Maccabi center Nikola Vujcic, who scored only 6 to give him 1,774 for his career. Tau also set a Euroleague mark with 26 straight home wins. Tau last lost at home on January 12, 2005 against CSKA, 81-85. Tau shared the previous record with Winterthur FC Barcelona, which also won 25 straight home games between November 8, 2001 and March 10, 2004. Scola scored 19 in the first half as the hosts put the game away early. Tau led by 10 after 10 minutes and were up 50-33 at halftime. Maccabi never made a serious comeback and finished with its second-worst Euroleague defeat all decade. Maccabi lost 94-71 at Armani Jeans Milano last January. Tiago Splitter scored 16 for Tau, Ender Arslan had 11 and Fred House 10. Kaya Peker and Zoran Planinic added 9 apiece. Lior Eliyahu led Maccabi with 19 points and 11 rebounds, Tal Burstein had 11 and Derrick Sharp 10 in defeat.

Tau needed just a minute to take its first lead on a three-pointer by House, as Maccabi got off to a cold start with Eliyahu as its only real weapon on court. The rookie was the only yellow able to score in the first 4 minutes, while the hosts fed Scola inside for an 11-4 lead to force an urgent timeout by Maccabi coach Neven Spahija. The break stopped Tau a bit, as Eliyahu continued his own show to score 4 more unanswered points and bring Maccabi within 11-8 after 5 minutes. Then it was Scola who came to the rescue. The Argentinean power forward became scored his record-breaking basket with a mid-range jumper and followed it with a fastbreak slam that boosted Tau to 15-8 midway though the first period. House increased the margin from the free throw line before Simas Jasaitis became the second visiting player to score with a three-pointer that made it a 6-point game. The next spark came from Splitter, who came up big in the paint and ignited a 6-0 run for a double-digit lead with 1 minute to go. Jasaitis and Planinic exchanged baskets in the last seconds to close the first period with a 25-15 lead for the hosts.

Lior Eliyahu - Maccabi EliteThings only got worse for the visitors, as Planinic took over for Tau and followed a long-range jumper with a two-handed dunk to raise the difference to 30-15. Maccabi's drought ended after Goran Jeretin finished a fastbreak with a layup, but it meant almost nothing against a full-throttled Tau. Scola hit inside once again and when Maccabi switched to zone defense, Planinic broke it easily with a drive to feed Peker for a 34-17 lead. Scola wasn’t happy though until he recorded 4 more points inside to give his team a 21-points margin midway through the second quarter. But when Tau's captain left the court, things started to improve for the guests. Jeretin hit three times from the free-throw line, followed by a three-point play by Eliyahu and a jumper by Burstein that took Maccabi within 38-25 with 4 minutes to go. Tau coach Natxo Lezkano tried to warn his players during a timeout and they reacted quickly with a better defensive effort and faster transitions. A dunk by Splitter and a triple from the corner by Serkan Erdogan prevented Maccabi from rallying. The frustrated visitors returned to poor shooting in offense. The margin remained from that point, as two free throws by Will Bynum closed the half with Tau holding a very comfortable 50-33 advantage.

Scola opened fire after intermission, but Maccabi came out more focused in offense and managed a 0-7 run behind a three-point play by Sharp, a nice layup by Jasaitis and a dunk by Vujcic to make it a 12-point game. Even though Splitter came to the rescue with another three-point play, the face of the game was a bit different. Bynum proved it with a monster one-handed dunk on an offensive rebound, which caused Tau to take a timeout leading 55-42. The break was pretty useful for the hosts, who returned more focused on defense as only Sharp remained a menace. On the other side, Maccabi managed to slow down Tau's offense a bit, but Pablo Prigioni hit once from downtown and drew a three-point foul for a 62-45 lead with three minutes to go. The yellows tried again a zone defense in an attempt to make Tau uncomfortable, but it seemed that nothing would stop the hosts as Splitter kept rocking inside. A buzzer-beating three from Burstein kept Maccabi within 70-54 at the end of the third quarter.

Tiago Splitter - Tau CeramicaSharon Shason made it a 13-point game with a three-pointer to start the fourth period, but Tau found the answer in with Peker, who capped a nice fastbreak with a double-handed dunk and Arslan, who hit from downtown for a 75-59 lead. Nothing seemed to work for the yellows, as no one was able to get anything done playing one-on-one. Arslan remained hot and hit from downtown once again for an 80-59 margin with 5 minutes to go. Eliyahu answered with 6 points in a row, but the main problem for Maccabi was at the defensive end. Each Tau offense ended up with a point or a foul, preventing Maccabi from reducing the gap to more reasonable numbers. With the outcome in no doubt, both teams used the last minutes to please the crowd as Tau sealed a big win.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Natxo Mendaza; Vitoria, Spain
Referees: PITSILKAS, NIKOLAOS (GRE), BELOSEVIC, ILIJA (SRB), ROCHA, FERNANDO (POR)
Attendance: 9323
By Quarter1234
Tau Ceramica25252024
Maccabi Elite15182119
End of Quarter1234
Tau Ceramica25507094
Maccabi Elite15335473
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
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
4 SCOLA, LUIS 32:30 25 11/16   3/4   5 5 2 1 2 1   1 5 30
5 PRIGIONI, PABLO 22:15 5 0/1 1/3 2/3       6         2 1 6
7 CILLA, JESUS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 VIDAL, SERGI 26:15 6 2/2 0/2 2/4 1 1 2 5 4       1 2 14
10 PLANINIC, ZORAN 25:15 9 3/6 0/2 3/4   3 3 4   1 2 1 3 2 9
11 ERDOGAN, SERKAN 18:00 3 0/1 1/1     2 2   1 4 1   4 1 -1
12 TELETOVIC, MIRZA 0:30                              
14 PEKER, KAYA 19:30 9 3/4   3/4   1 1 2 2 1 1   3 2 11
20 ESLAVA, ARIEL DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
21 SPLITTER, TIAGO 27:30 16 4/10   8/9 4 2 6   3 4   1 2 8 19
32 HOUSE, FRED 15:30 10 1/1 2/2 2/2 1 1 2 1 1       2 1 13
33 ARSLAN, ENDER 12:45 11 1/1 3/4     2 2 1         1   12
Team           1 3 4   3           7
Totals 200:00 94 25/42 7/14 23/30 7 20 27 21 15 12 5 2 19 22 120
59.5% 50% 76.7%
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: SPAHIJA, NEVEN
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 28:15 8 2/4 0/2 4/4 1 3 4 2 2 2     3 3 10
5 FELIX, NOEL DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
6 SHARP, DERRICK 22:30 10 2/3 0/3 6/7 1   1     2   2 1 6 7
7 VUJCIC, NIKOLA 22:45 6 2/6 0/2 2/2 1 4 5 3 1 1 1 1 2 2 8
8 ELIYAHU, LIOR 27:00 19 7/11 0/1 5/5 5 6 11 1   2     3 3 24
9 ARNOLD, JAMIE 10:15   0/1 0/1     1 1   1 1 1        
10 BURSTEIN, TAL 24:30 11 1/4 3/5   1 2 3 2   4   2 2   3
11 SHASON, SHARON 10:45 3   1/4         1 1 2     4   -4
13 JASAITIS, SIMAS 20:15 7 2/3 1/2   3   3   1       4 1 6
14 GREEN, YANIV 9:15 4 2/3     1 1 2   1 2       1 5
15 JERETIN, GORAN 14:15 5 1/2 0/1 3/3         2 3     1 3 4
21 HALPERIN, YOTAM 10:15   0/2                     2   -4
Team           1 2 3     2         1
Totals 200:00 73 19/39 5/21 20/21 14 19 33 9 9 21 2 5 22 19 60
48.7% 23.8% 95.2%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

LEZCANO, IGNACIO
Tau Ceramica
“We played a very good game in general tonight. It's true that we weren't consistent for the whole game. We went through some up-and-downs during the game. We didn't play as we planned sometimes. We also committed some mistakes in defense, but the job overall was pretty good so I feel satisfied. We scored a lot of points, but many of them came after very good defensive work. I'm very happy with the job we did tonight, especially with the players' attitude. We managed to keep up a good effort even when we amassed big advantages. What makes me happier is the win, not the records we broke tonight.”
SPAHIJA, NEVEN
Maccabi Elite
“First of all I want to congratulate Tau for one more great win over us. I think they are one of the best European teams in this moment. They are in great shape and I hope they can keep on the same good shape in April to see them atop. The explanation for this defeat is simple; In this moment they are better team, maybe not 21 points better, but better in the end. We were so heavily defeated because of our bad approach in the first half, but this was one only game and we have to keep working and believe we can qualify for the next stage of the Euroleague.”

Players

PRIGIONI, PABLO
Tau Ceramica
“We did a serious job tonight and managed to get a confident result over a big team like Maccabi. But the best and most important thing is that we managed to seal our qualification for the Euroleague playoffs. The records are not very important, as they cannot take us out of our targets. This is a consequence of several factors. One of them is that we are improving a lot physically. All the players feel better and when you add the talent that many guys have here, you can see games like this.”
VUJCIC, NIKOLA
Maccabi Elite
“I think our poor start was decisive to explain why we lost by so many points tonight. The main reason for our defeat tonight is that they were much better than us. We are going through a lot of ups-and-downs, we are facing the same problem for the whole season, but we must stay focused and tray to get the qualification for the next round and not think of anything else.”
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