Preparations for the playoffs have already begun: Maccabi Tel Aviv is "in top shape" at the perfect time

The foreigners have reached their peak at just the right stage, Ziv is becoming an X Factor, and the group is already fantasizing: "There is reason to believe that something special can be done."

Meanwhile, the club's leaders are working behind the scenes on the dates of the quarter-final series, which could clash with the second holiday of Passover and the evening of Holocaust Remembrance Day.

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30/03/2022

Wednesday, March 30, 2022, 6:45 p.m.

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Comments of Maccabi Tel Aviv after the 74:75 victory over Real Madrid (Maccabi Tel Aviv, official Instagram page)

1.

The positive momentum of Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Euroleague continued last night (Tuesday) when the Yellows convincingly defeated Panathinaikos at Ouaka, 83:95.

Thanks to the victory, the team's established its sixth place in the Euroleague table with 14 wins and 11 losses, and it is expected to officially secure its place in the playoffs with a victory over Wheelerban in Yad Eliyahu tomorrow.

Last night's victory was only Maccabi's fourth of the season outside of Eliyahu, with the Yellows having only one more away game against Barcelona next week.

Thanks to the victory, Maccabi broke an eight-year streak and six losses to Panathinaikos in Athens.

The Yellows recorded a bad first quarter and were already 8 points behind in the first half before a run led by Yiftach Ziv, Jaylen Reynolds and Keenan Evans opened for them a 9-point lead in the half.

The Yellows had already climbed to a 16-point lead in the final quarter before the home team began bombing off the arc, narrowing the gap to just 5, when at this point Derek Williams got into things with a few threes and decided the game.

Williams led five yellows for the Yellows in double digits with 17 points.

"We did not start the game properly, but what matters is how you finish, not how you start," Williams analyzed at the end.

"We improved as the game progressed. What we need to improve is the defensive rotation, that's what the coach talks about throughout the game. A little more concentration and could have been even better."

Jaylen Reynolds who scored 14 points and added 9 rebounds said: "We came here and competed against a very good team. Offensively we were better and in some of the game we also kept well. Every game is important, very good to get out of a game with a win, we were aggressive and got it."

Towards the end of the game, the news of the attack in Bnei Brak reached the people of Maccabi Tel Aviv, and they updated the team and the players on the way down to the locker room.

More on Walla!

Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Panathinaikos and came close to securing a place in the quarterfinals

To the full article

It's starting to look like something special.

Maccabi Tel Aviv celebrates (Photo: official website, Elad Goldstein, Maccabi Tel Aviv official Instagram page)

More on Walla!

• Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Panathinaikos and came close to securing a place in the quarterfinals

• Avi Even: "It was important for us to prove that we can win outside"

• Yuval Sussman With a career high, Milan secured a home run in the playoffs

• The Silent Killer: Everything you need to know about high blood pressure and how to deal with it

2.

After the game against Real Madrid, Avi Even got five players in double digits, this time the figure was improved, with five players in double digits and two more players scoring 9 points each.

The feeling among Maccabi members is that more players are in good playing shape than at any other time in the season, when some of the players were fit and some were far from their good form.

Among others, Maccabi praised the top four Americans alongside Scotty Wilbkin - Derek Williams who recorded his best game this season and excelled in the last quarter time and time again to prevent the return of Panathinaikos, James Nanley who maintains stability, Jaylen Reynolds who is probably in the best shape Shalev from the start of the season and Keenan Evans who finished a balanced evening with 11 points, 6 assists, 4 steals and 3 rebounds.

"While it's just a streak of three wins, we feel we're getting to the end of the season in our best shape since running earlier this year," said one Athens club member. Special this season. "

Reveals surprising stability.

James Nanley (Photo: Official Website, Elad Goldstein, Maccabi Tel Aviv Official Instagram Page)

The

Yellows will meet Wheelerban tomorrow (Thursday, 21:05) in the 33rd round of the Euroleague, knowing that a home win will guarantee them a final ticket to the playoffs on the one hand, and on the other hand will bring them closer to sixth place which should prevent them from a possible meeting with Barcelona and Real Madrid, two teams that are considered a more significant threat than Milan and Olympiacos that should finish in 3-4 places.

"The next game against Wheelerban is a real minefield," said one of the Maccabi players last night. Very dangerous".

At the same time, Maccabi has already started working with the Euroleague on the dates of the playoff series, with game number 2 away expected to take place on the eve of Passover Monday, unless the Euroleague agrees to open the series open on the day.

Game number 4 - if it takes place - is expected to be played on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day in Tel Aviv, and if there is game 5 there is already a request to bring it forward by a day, to play the day before the eve of Memorial Day for the victims of Israel.

Who will come to Israel with Wheelerban is Chris Jones who last season at this point in time was one of the significant players in Maccabi Tel Aviv and helped the team win the championship and the cup.

Jones recently returned from an injury at Wheelerban and is expected to be well received by teammates and the crowd at Yad Eliyahu who greatly appreciated him.

a point of light.

Yiftach Ziv (Photo: Official Website, Elad Goldstein, Maccabi Tel Aviv Official Instagram Page)

4.

Whoever still won praise and continues his good period will open Ziv.

The quarterback finished the game with 9 points including three from half a yard at the end of the first quarter, put a lot of energy into the Yellows' game and got 17 minutes from Avi Even, with only five players playing more than him.

"Yiftach's progress lately has been more than encouraging," said one of the Maccabi players after the game. Exactly what we expect and want him to do. "

Gave Ziv the credit.

Avi Even (Photo: Official Website, Elad Goldstein, Maccabi Tel Aviv Official Instagram Page)

5

.

On the morning of the game, Maccabi Tel Aviv, together with the World Zionist Organization and the Center for Jewish Impact, held a ceremony at the National Holocaust Memorial in Athens.

In addition to the team members and senior members of the organizations, former players of the club, Doron Jamchi and Ulsey Perry, were also present.

"The Greek Jewish community is one of the oldest in the world. When we commemorate the Holocaust of the Jews of Greece, we will of course remember the Jews of the Thessaloniki community, which was the largest Jewish community in Greece, with about three quarters murdered in the Holocaust. "Tel Aviv and were the city's first port workers. We stand here to remember and not forget, as we did recently in Milan, Berlin and Belgrade," said club chairman Shimon Mizrahi about the ceremony in which wreaths were laid in memory of the murdered.

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