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“We have an important match ahead of the strongest team at this stage,” Maccabi, a Greek coach, told a news conference in Tel Aviv. – A perfectly balanced team.
This shows his quality, not only in terms of his current position in the Euroleague. They are in good sporting shape, currently the best prepared team in the Euroleague, in my opinion.
To win, we have to play well on defense, limit the actions of opponents, play wisely on defense, follow the order of play in attacks.
Žalgiris has weaknesses and we must take advantage of them. I expect a difficult game for my boys to fight for victory ”.
photo Getty Images /euroleague.net/ Kaunas Žalgiris
“Žalgiris” is currently in second place in the Euroleague with 5 wins and 2 losses, only ahead of the team “Barcelona”.
The Tel Aviv team, led by I. Spairopoulos, is currently in 15th place among the 18 teams in the tournament. Although Maccabi shared 4-5 places in the Euroleague due to the stagnation of the pandemic last season, this season the Israeli champions have won only two matches out of seven, and the problem does not end there.
Three basketball players (Omri Casspi, Yovel Zoosman and John DiBartolomeo) have not played this season due to injuries, and this week there are doubts about the health of forward Othello Hunter, 34.
Getty Images / Euroleague.net nuotr./Othello Hunteris
“We still do not know if there is a chance that he will play, I cannot answer,” said the Maccabi coach on the eve of the match.
He added that if Hunter can’t play, others will have more tension.
Against Žižičius, the second player in terms of performance and efficiency after Croatian Scottie Wilbekino, who came to Israel a few years after the NBA, he would probably take longer on the field.
Another tall man from Croatia, Dragan Bender, may have more minutes. Four years ago, the 216cm-long Croatian, who was named fourth in the NBA rookie trade, was compared to Kristap Porzing, but within a few years, Phoenix Sus, and then other NBA teams, were missing. lived up to expectations.
„Scanpix“ nuotr./Draganas Benderis
He disappoints the two Tel Aviv fans with his modest performance at the start of the season.
“As for Bender, I said from the beginning that then he came to the team, he did not experience preparation with the team and he did not play for a long time. He lacks ability to play, but this will be our fourth game in no time, so we will adjust, said I. Spairoppulos. – He had problems with the road, so he couldn’t play one hundred percent. His adaptation is slower than we expected, although he did not want to reveal that he was healing a trauma. Everything will be fine a little later, of that I have no doubt. We trust him, it is important that he fight. “
I.Sfairopoulos recalled that although “Maccabi” lost two games at home, “Žalgiris” is also stumbling in his field.
“The key is to improve and play better in the final minutes,” said the Maccabi coach, whose team lost 4 points or less in 4 of 5 games this season. “We will be better when we have full force.”
Euroleague.net Swim / Tel Avivo „Maccabi“
I.Sfairopoulos added more compliments on the Lithuanian rivals: “Žalgiris” is a great team that knows how to play as a team and knows how to take advantage of its advantages. It’s a great challenge for us to play against the best offensive team in the league. We will do our best to win.
They have big and strong defenders, but we will have a counterweight to them. When you play against Maccabi Tel Aviv, you have to win, whatever happens, you can win 10 matches in a row, but everyone expects to win matches 11 and 12, which is not easy. I coach Maccabi and the players and I know that the tension is good for us, the boys understand that despite everything, they have to dedicate themselves to the game. You have to play the best you can, that’s the most important thing. “
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