Tiktekno: clip summarizing today's events in sport, 11.4/sport1
1.
Maccabi Tel Aviv finished last night (Thursday) a second Euroleague season in a row with 20 victories, after an 86:92 victory over Milan in the closing game of the regular season. The victory did not change the position of the yellows who finished the season in seventh place, and this coming Tuesday they will play in the play-in against the winner tonight between Virtus Bologna and Baskonia for the right to meet Panathinaikos in the playoff series.
Maccabi came to last night's game with the fear of being arrested due to the fact that the game is a protocol for them, but of importance to Milan. In practice, the Italians also lost interest in the game at an early stage and the Yellows managed to control the match throughout, divide the minutes nicely so that almost all the players of the team played between 11 and 25 minutes and come away with the victory.
The one who stood out was Josh Niebo who finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds as Wade Baldwin, who won the EuroLeague MVP title before the game and received the award from his mother Monica and club chairman Shimon Mizrahi, added 18 of his own. Roman Sorkin contributed 13 in 16 minutes.
"It was a very challenging game," said Josh Nibo at the end, "We filled a very strong team, they fought to enter the playoffs and we wanted to finish the season strong and we didn't want to give away the victory in vain. We have a big game waiting for us next week, a must win game. Getting into the playoffs is very important."
"We're happy that we got 20 wins this season, the second year in a row," said Baldwin, "No matter what the circumstances, we were able to get 20 wins. It was one of the strangest games of the season. It was hard to stay focused on what needed to be done, I'm glad we managed to get the win despite everything. We will be ready for Bologna or Basconi on Tuesday. We play in the Israeli league and the Euroleague, but we built good habits, maybe we broke them a little today - but we still won."
2.
As mentioned, only tonight will Maccabi Tel Aviv know who it will meet next Tuesday, at the end of the match between Virtus Bologna and Basconia in Italy. The Italians, who are in eighth place on the eve of the match, are in the midst of a very bad period, when they rarely win even in the local league, and in fact in the last month they have dropped from the playoff zone where they have been throughout most of the season, to the possibility of finishing in ninth place. On the other hand, Baskonia managed to hold the play-in area throughout this period.
Two things that have already been determined for Maccabi are that if they win the first play-in game, they will meet Panathinaikos, which they beat twice this season. In addition, it was determined that Anadolu Zero will finish in tenth place and meet the loser in the game on Tuesday in Bologna.
In any case, Maccabi Tel Aviv are determined to follow the approach that led them from tenth place at the end of February to seventh place, a touch away from sixth. "We found the right path in March, and we have to come with that attitude to the next game. Everyone was committed enough to play our right game, do what we know how to do, with the passion that led us to 20 wins this season," said Baldwin.
3.
Unlike Baldwin who ends the season strongly, Maccabi Tel Aviv's attempt to involve Lorenzo Brown more and try to force him into things again did not go well. Brown completed a fourth consecutive game without a three-pointer last night and finished with a quiet 10 points in 24 minutes, along with 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
Still, the club refused to be moved by Brown's less impressive ability last night as well. "In the last two weeks, we get from Lorenzo the feeling that he is with us and that his whole mind is in the task," said one of the Maccabi people last night from Belgrade, "It's not every day every player can score 20 points, and right now Wade and Josh are carrying us in many games. But we are sure that when we have to Same, Lorenzo will be there for the team."
4.
The only question mark in Maccabi ahead of the match on Tuesday is regarding John DiBartholomew. The captain who did not go with the team to Belgrade and stayed to get rest and treatment for his injured shoulder, will not play tomorrow in the league game against Hapoel Holon either. The goal is to give him full rest in order to be fit for the game on Tuesday.
Maccabi are sure that DiBartholomeo will be able to get on the floor, but the Yellows' concern is that the injury will hinder him during the game, physically or psychologically. They will be able to get the answer to this only during the game. "In the end, Jondi has a huge stake in our run at the end of the season and in many, many victories before," the club praised the captain, "he told everyone that he would be fine and he would play on Tuesday, but the problem is that sometimes with injuries like this you don't feel the most comfortable during the game. Let's hope that we receive him in full capacity because he is very important to us in the run-up to the decisive moments."
5.
Already tomorrow (19:50), as mentioned, Maccabi will play its 22nd league game of the season and its third this week, when it will host Hapoel Holon at Hichal Menorah. Maccabi still has a gap of more than a game over second-placed Hapoel Tel Aviv in the table, so even a loss would not cost them the top spot - but the club wants to maintain a margin of safety from the Reds who are chasing after them.
"The most important thing in this game, as we saw against Nes Ziona, is to get through it safely in terms of injuries. We can't afford to lose a key player this week," said one of the team members, "on the one hand, we can't register a weak squad, because we don't want to hurt With confidence. But we have to walk the fine line between playing the last game with the utmost seriousness, and the fear of injuries."