When Avi Even was appointed Maccabi Tel Aviv coach in place of Yannis Sapropoulos about a month and a half ago, who even dreamed that by the beginning of April the Yellows would secure their place in the Euroleague quarterfinals (with a little help in the form of relegation) and finish the regular season in first place.
The smooth victory yesterday (Monday) was 61:84 over Hapoel Gilboa / Galil, which defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv in the previous round, combined with the surprising loss of Hapoel Jerusalem in Rishon LeZion, arranged the summit for the Yellows and also a nice monetary income from a home game against Hapoel Jerusalem Top instead of going to the arena.
"Our good first half was enough for us to hold the advantage throughout the game," Even explained at the end.
"The second half was bad, we had a bit of a fall and we have to learn from that. It's not easy to make the transition between the Euroleague and the league, we have to make the adjustments."
The temporary coach who became a regular was asked at the press conference what he has learned about himself since he was appointed to the post and replied: "I learned that you can live this life without sleeping. It's a long season. I also learn the team better over time. I am happy for the opportunity to succeed".
Captain John Dibertolomeo added: "We did not underestimate Gilboa, we remembered that they beat us in the previous game. We were aggressive in the opening and we have to keep it for 40 minutes. It is clear that there is a difference between league and Euroleague games, but league games are very important to us. Games. "
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