Žižić: "Feeling unstoppable", Evans: "We are the most dangerous in the Euroleague"

Celebrations at Maccabi Tel Aviv after the promotion to the playoffs when the team players cheered and broadcast a message that they are not afraid of any team coming.

Wilbkin wrapped himself in a flag as a gesture in light of the situation but refused to answer that would offend Sapropolos, the club want to avoid Olympiacos

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01/04/2022

Friday, 01 April 2022, 07:42

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

1.

It will happen in two and a half weeks.

Seven years after Andrew Goodlock finished his previous playoff series against Fenerbahce / Ulker, Maccabi Tel Aviv will appear in the Euroleague playoff series and start it with two away games.

Although the Yellows emphasize that they qualified for the playoffs in the 2019/20 season as well, but did not get to play there, and this time under the auspices of the war in Ukraine, they will get on the floor and meet one of the best teams in Europe.

Maccabi finally got the ticket to the playoffs in style last night (Thursday) with a fourth consecutive victory - 73:94 over Wheelerban, in a game that did not rise to a high level for a little over half, and an explosion in the third and fourth quarters with some memorable showtime and dunk by Scotty Wilbkin The Yellows for victory and celebrations.

Maccabi went to celebrate with the crowd, and then also in the locker room with the club members, waiting impatiently to know who their opponent will be in the playoffs.

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Big celebrations with the audience and then in the locker room.

Ziv and Blazer (Photo: Danny Maron)

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"It's always a hard thing to be in the playoffs, I was once early in my career, and I have not been since, nice to come back. It's hard, every year it's hard, we are happy and feel we got to play in the top 8," Scotty Wilbkin concluded his return to the playoffs and first arrival with Maccabi Tel Aviv, and talked about his dunk and the move to the white shirts Eitan Maccabi did not lose: "If it's a delivery like I gave to Ante I would rather deliver, maybe people like me to drown, but it is better that people like the delivery more. Once we started playing with the white shirts we stopped losing, I asked "These shirts from the beginning of the season, they finally listened to me."

Ante Žižić who equaled his career high with 24 points added: "We're where we wanted to be, we've been having fun lately and we've shown it on the pitch. It was amazing, in front of our crowd, we feel we can not be stopped."

Keenan Evans, who handed the great assist to Wilbkin, said of the move: "All season Scotty says I'm inherently like Bigman and I said he should take part in that too. I saw he was ready to jump, I threw at him and said I wish he would drown. When my friends enjoy I enjoy."

"We are happy and feel we have won."

Zizic (Photo: Danny Maron)

Only a month and a half ago, Maccabi Tel Aviv was at a low point

The loss in the Tel Aviv derby in the Cup semi-finals led to the dismissal of Yannis Sapropoulos and his replacement by Avi Even.

Even's first game ended in a heavy defeat to Andulo Zero, but in the background began the war in Ukraine that changed the face of the Euroleague, gave Maccabi the opportunity and the Yellows jumped on it with both hands.

"I do not know what has changed. We played like that at the beginning of the season, and then we started to have a hard time, we seem to have found our way, I hope we can continue to play like this later on," said Scotty Wilbkin. "Towards coach Yannis, our success is not because of the change of coaches, my father is doing a good job, but I do not want to answer that. He is doing a good job, he is leading us as he should, the change is our players."

Evans said that his team has recently started to enjoy and said that Maccabi needed the fall that came in the winter to recover: "We will not do such a sequence again, I hope we will continue to win."

"I do not know what has changed."

Wilbkin (Photo: Danny Maron)

3. At the end of the game there were dramatic moments in the locker room area.

Maccabi knew that Real Madrid lost to Panathinaikos and a series against the Blancos seemed realistic, but then came the news from Milan, when the local team messed up at home against Monaco, and after tonight's game between Olympiacos and Barcelona the Yellows will get a slightly clearer picture of the playoffs.

In any case, before next week at best Maccabi will not be able to know where it will end up, and who its rival is.

A number of Maccabi Tel Aviv officials said they would be happy to avoid a series against Olympiacos.

"We are the most dangerous team in the Euroleague, every team that plays against us should be afraid, we are in a row, I hope we reach the playoffs as one of the hottest teams hope we continue with this streak until the end," Evans said enthusiastically at the end. "We are in a good matchup against any team, we will have to come up with the right idea."

Wilbkin, who as usual refuses to go into euphoria, stayed with his feet on the ground and said: "In every game we get to we believe we can win, we will be in a series against a good team, but we still believe we can win, we do not come with the feeling that we have no chance."

Most dangerous in the Euroleague?

Evans (Photo: Danny Maron)

4.

The celebrations at the end of the game were painted in the colors of the Israeli flag.

Scotty Wilbkin and Yiftach Ziv were wrapped in a flag on the floor, and the song "Am Yisrael Chai" was heard from the stands, as Maccabi honored the 11 murdered last week in terrorist acts across the country.

"Many times I am asked to raise the flag, and it is strange to me that I am not Israeli, but with everything that is happening now I wanted to support the country," Wilbkin said, adding about the role of the audience in the team's success. "At home. They love us when we play well, and we play well now."

A month and a half after the fans tried to break into the locker room at the end of the cup derby, and in training afterwards lit a torch on the parquet and created a mess, several hundred of them waited for the players to leave the hall to thank and celebrate with them. .

"It's the best medicine of all, victories."

Nanley celebrates (Photo: Danny Maron)

5.

While Maccabi will try to understand against whom they may play in the playoffs, the team will try to stay close to Hapoel Jerusalem, which is expected to finish the second round of the Premier League in first place.

Maccabi has an important game against Hapoel Haifa away tomorrow (20:00), and on Monday (17:30) they will host Gilboa / Galil.

Two wins will secure the team second place in the table, and it will be dependent on itself to finish in first place in the top house.

Maccabi is expected to divide the load between the players in the two league games, when it is possible that even Scotty Wilbkin will get a rest in one of these two games.

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• Euroleague and European basketball

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