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MACCABI ELITE TEAM STATS AXA FC BARCELONA TEAM STATS HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS HISTORIC MATCHUPS

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Maccabi Elite 1-1 AXA FC Barcelona
Two Euroleague superpowers look to return to the Final Four after a season away when Maccabi Elite takes on AXA FC Barcelona for a ticket to Madrid. Maccabi, back-to-back Euroleague winner in 2004 and 2005, lost to CSKA in the 2006 final in Prague. Barca, the 2003 Euroleague champ, lost to CSKA in the 2006 semifinal. Both teams have undergone coaching changes that have revitalized the squads this season. Maccabi is 9-2 since Zvika Sherf took over in January and Barca finished Top 16 Group G in second place after Xavier Pascual took charge in February. Maccabi’s home-court advantage could be key to this series as both teams have gone 8-2 on their floors this season.

Nikola Vujcic Maccabi Elite Center

Ersan Ilyasova AXA FC Barcelona Forward

One of the Euroleague's signature stars of the decade, Nikola Vujcic had what is for him an unusual season, due to injuries, but is now back in a situation he knows well, fighting for the Final Four. The two-time Euroleague champ and five time all-Euroleague selection at center returned in time to help Maccabi pull off key Top 16 victories that were good for home-court advantage in the upcoming best-of-three games playoff series with AXA F.C. Barcelona, which Vujcic talked about with Euroleague.net.

"It means a lot to us to have finished the Top 16 in first place. It's a huge advantage at this stage to have the possibility to play two games at home. And also for the confidence of the team, it's been a great achievement. This year we have a good team, but we’ve also had a lot of bad luck with injuries. A lot of players have missed big parts of the season: me, Tal Burstein, now Marcus Fizer. So we're proud of what we've done. I am at 100 percent now. I still don't have the stamina to play 40 minutes, but I still have 10 days [before the game against Barcelona] to improve that. I think if we were all healthy all season we would have been even stronger. But it's hard to say if the injuries then have made us better now. I don't know."



"I haven’t watched Barcelona a lot this season, but I have followed their results and seen the team’s statistics. I know all the players and for sure if they made the top eight, you know that there are no bad teams in the quarterfinals. For us it’s the same as always. It will be fun to play at home and should be a nice competition. For sure Jaka Lakovic is their main guy. He’s excellent. He’s the guy who has carried them all season. I know Mario Kasun, too. I’ve played with him on the Croatian national team."

"Barcelona likes to play a low-scoring game. We like to play a high-scoring game. So in these cases, the team that can set the tempo will have the game under control. So for sure we will try to play as fast a pace as possible. That will be a key to winning. Experience is also important, but we have players who have been to the Final Four and they have players who have been to the Final Four. Both teams have experience and a lot of it. Our new guys will be prepared for the atmosphere. They learn that here in Maccabi. They sense it. They see the crowd that is different between the regular season and the Top 16. And you can feel a nice tension now before playing Barcelona. I will of course help prepare them and we’ll be ready."

When he made his Euroleague debut, Ersan Ilyasova was in his middle teens, playing in his native Turkey and just getting his feet wet. Three seasons later, he's back, still young, and was in full swim as he stepped up to help lift AXA F.C. Barcelona into the playoffs with his all-around contribution - especially in rebounding and blocks - during the Top 16. Facing his first playoffs ever, against a traditional power like Maccabi Tel Aviv, Ilyasova talked with Euroleague.net about this unique opportunity.

"The first time I played in the Euroleague, for my old team Ulker, I was 16 years old, I think. I have come back to European basketball at a good time, when there are a lot of good teams, and everyone plays at a high level. It has been very impressive to play in the Euroleague and I am very excited that we are continuing. The crowds and atmosphere in the Euroleague are just amazing. Now that I am playing more minutes, it is even more exciting for me. I am very happy and looking forward to trying to win these next games against Maccabi."



"The Top 16 went good for us. When we won against Unicaja at home, we knew we had a couple more games left to advance. But we lost at Rome and then we lost again at Unicaja by a point on the last shot, we had to beat CSKA, but we still knew that we could do it. We had to beat one of the best teams in Europe, a very good team, and we did that. I think that beating CSKA in that situation was very big for us. It will send us into the playoffs with confidence to face Maccabi."

"I do not know much about Maccabi, but of course I have seen some of their players. The one I have seen up close is Esteban Batista when he was with the Atlanta Hawks and I was with the Milwaukee Bucks. Of course, we know they are a good team and we need to prepare to concentrate 100 percent on the first game. We want to win that game first, and even though it will be tough playing them at home, we know that if we already have a victory, and with our fans behind us, we can finish the series at home. But we have to go to Tel Aviv and win first."

"It's hard to say if we are going to play our best basketball soon. We have had a lots of changes, the head coach first and then some players. We are now starting to play much better, similar to the way we had played earlier in the season. What's true is we are playing more together now, sharing the ball, playing good defense. For me, our previous coach didn't give me a chance to play too much. But our new coach gives me that chance and I think I am showing what I can do in the games. It has been an adjustment, but we are feeling more comfortable together, and I think we are going to play better and better."