1 big celebrations at Maccabi Tel Aviv after the huge 58:75 yesterday (Tuesday) against the strong Milan that put the Yellows in a great position to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Euroleague.
One of those at the center of things was, of course, Avi Even.
The interim coach enthusiastically celebrated the victory over Ettore Messina the Great and won big compliments from the club members, and even cheers from some of the fans.
A few hours earlier owner Udi Recanati also said at a special press conference that he liked Stone's work and that he thought it was the right decision.
When asked if there is a chance the interim coach will get a permanent contract next season, he replied succinctly: "There is a chance my father will continue, we will make a decision in the summer."
Celebrations at Maccabi Tel Aviv. Is it possible to dream beyond the playoffs? Photo: Alan Shiber
"It was our best defensive game since I arrived," said Even, who was very happy to see the defensive effort his trainees showed, especially the series of bad defensive games in recent times.
"It was a great defensive effort against a good and very trained team."
Messina, on the other hand, was furious the whole game over the losses and lack of concentration of his players.
At the end of the game he also did not like the basket scored by James Nanali in the closing seconds and even talked about it with Avi Even who responded afterwards: "Very respectful of what Messina said".
2 Those who still received big compliments are Yiftach Ziv, who presented one of his best games since joining Maccabi Tel Aviv. "Sometimes a player finds himself in a certain situation with less confidence," the coach explained. "Because of my acquaintance with Yiftach and the work I did with him during the year More confidence.
A player with confidence looks different.
"What makes me happier than anything, is that he opens up brings the energies we need, the pressure on the ball and the aggressiveness, and I'm glad he grows from that to offensive security."
Yiftach Ziv.
Something was released in him, Photo: Alan Schieber
On the other hand, Maccabi tried to calm down about the weak performance of Scotty Wilbkin, which led to a setback in the team's ability in his minutes on the field.
"Scotty is one of the best guards in Europe," Stone clarified.
"He is a talented and good player, but I am happy that there is cooperation and division within the team and a lot of players have been reflected."
3 Maccabi also referred to the high chances of qualifying for the quarterfinals after the relegation of the Russian teams, and to the remaining games.
"We felt we were a playoff team even before they were sent off," Keenan Evans said.
Jaylen Reynolds added about the big differences in his and his teammates' ability between home and away games: "I felt like I was flying with our amazing fans, their push helps us a lot. It helps us do things like that. It's not easy to play outside, the crowd outside makes it difficult for us. The confidence we have at home makes us do things we love to do like drown. "
Žižić and Nanali.
Good opening, Photo: Alan Schieber
John Dibertolomeo, who recovered after a few days of illness, was fit to play yesterday, but the team decided to give him another rest.
The player may be on the roster for the game against Real Madrid (Thursday, 21:05).
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