Israeli teams in Euroleague play were back in action with mixed results after a two-week break due to the war with Iran.
Hapoel Tel Aviv downed Barcelona 80-75 as Dan Oturu and Elijah Bryant paced the Reds to their first road win after a three-game losing streak away from home. The win moved Hapoel’s record to 18-11 and it finds itself in fifth place with a pair of games in hand as it tries to move closer to the top of the standings and away from the Play-In zone.
Oturu scored 22 points, Bryant added 21 points, and Blakeney put in eight points in the win. Kevin Punter scored 17 points to lead Barca, and Will Clyburn added 15 points as Tomas Satoransky had 11 points in the loss.
“We started rusty, let’s be honest,” Itoudis said after the game. “But we got used to it after that very well. In two quarters, we gave up 14 points, the second quarter and the last quarter. The problems for us were turnovers. We turned the ball over too much and missed free throws. But other than that, we had a clear target of what to do.”
Maccabi Tel Aviv, meanwhile fell at Milano 96-87 as Gur Lavy’s career night for the yellow-and-blue was not enough against former center Josh Nebo, who starred in the victory for the Italians.
Maccabi Tel Aviv drops to 13th place
The loss dropped Maccabi’s record to 14-16 and it now finds itself in 13th place, three games out of a Play-In spot with only eight games remaining in the regular season.
“We played against a good team and they shot the ball really well,” Maccabi coach Oded Kattash said. “We did a better job in the second half and the most important thing is that we kept fighting. We have a week to recover and get the next one.”
Nebo, the game’s MVP, added: “In the past we had some trouble in the fourth quarter and today was a big step forward in responding to their run and closing the game out. It was a tough game and we’re trying to push for a spot in the playoffs, so I try to bring my best effort to every matchup.”
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