Yannis Sapropoulos promises that Maccabi Tel Aviv did not finish the season, as long as it has any chance of making it to the Euroleague playoffs • The Greek coach also explained why there was no strengthening during the season
Jones.
He opened with a five and proved himself
Photo:
Alan Shiver
1.
Restrained satisfaction in Maccabi Tel Aviv after the 72:84 last night (Thursday) over Valencia, which broke a streak of four Euroleague losses.
The Yellows were pleased with the good defense and ability on both sides of the field in the second half, but they also know that despite the nice victory, the chances of qualifying for the quarterfinals are particularly low.
"We have done things before, but this time it will be very difficult," said the team. Coach Yannis Sapropoulos clarified: "We will continue to fight until the end."
Maccabi is also pleased with the fact that in the next games, already in the derby on Sunday, the number of spectators allowed will increase to 1,000 and they believe that this will give them another boost for the future.
"We saw that in the last two games the fans gave strength and impetus to the team in the important moments. Last season we saw it in every game," the club said.
2.
Scotty Wilbkin played just 12 minutes and threw once into the basket.
The team said after the game that it was a professional decision of the coaching staff, but the assessment is that the player is still suffering from a thumb injury that bothered him in the game against Milan about two weeks ago, and it is still unclear whether he will be on the squad for the derby
In his absence, Tyler Dorsey took command and excelled in the minutes in which the Yellows fled to the Spanish rival.
"We are with our backs to the wall and do not know what is going to happen," the guard admitted, "We need to accumulate every possible victory."
Wilbkin. Many minutes on the bench // Photo: Alan Shiver
3.
Perhaps following a series of recent losses and perhaps also due to Wilbkin's condition, Sapropolos deviated from his custom and rotated to make some changes that paid off for him.
Chris Jones opened with a five and returned with another solid and good game.
John Dibertolomeo came off the bench as early as the first quarter and was excellent on both sides of the pitch.
"I was not surprised, because you have to be ready when you are called," Jones explained, "I took the opportunity I got. The coach makes the right decisions. I am a team player and do not think about my minutes."
Dibertolomeo added: "It's nice to get into the game earlier and run with the team. My job is to play as hard as possible."
The captain was also asked about his chances of advancing to the quarter-finals and replied: "We are not looking at the playoffs at all. From now on we will treat every game as a final and do the best we can."
4. When around
a large part of the Euroleague teams strengthened towards the second and decisive part of the season, Maccabi Tel Aviv contented itself with strengthening the Israeli staff with the arrival of TJ Klein and in fact gave up bringing in a purchase that would significantly upgrade the staff, despite the bad results throughout the season.
After the win over Valencia, Sapropoulos provided two explanations for the decision not to strengthen: "The first reason is that I believe in my squad and the players who are available. In addition, I do not think in the middle of the season you can bring players who will really upgrade you, because the good players are under contract."
