Baskonia achieved an important victory against MacCabi Tel-Aviv in the Euroleague ‘play-in’ on Friday, winning 89-82. The team’s success was largely due to their effective use of triple launches. Chima Moneke played a key role in the first part of the game, ending with 28 assessment credits and setting the energy level for the team. Tim Luwawu-Cabarrot and Markus Howard also performed well, with Howard recovering his form with five triples.
The Israeli team, MacCabi Tel-Aviv, struggled with the absence of Rokas Jokabaitis and relied on the inspiration of their exterior players and a good performance from Romain Sorkin. The game began with a fast pace and a lot of success from both teams, with the yellow team punishing near the hoop. However, Chima Moneke’s 18 points in the first half helped keep his team close to the Israeli team. The locals’ defensive fragility caused easy baskets for MacCabi Tel-Aviv, who took the lead after the first 10 minutes, 21-23.
The start of the second half was similar, but Baskonia gained an advantage in the exchange of triples with the entry of Markus Howard, who made three distant pitches. Nikos Rogkavopoulos joined the offensive threat, and the team maintained a constant rhythm, going into the break ahead, 51-42. The script continued after the break, with Tim Luwawu-Cabarrot succeeding from the outside and marking the path for his team. MacCabi Tel-Aviv tried to grab the game, but the absence of Jokubaitis and Hoard was noticeable.
Romain Sorkin multiplied his efforts to lower the deficit, and the game became intense in the last quarter. However, a triple from Tim Luwawu-Cabarrot gave Baskonia the air they needed when MacCabi Tel-Aviv was closing in. The Israeli team couldn’t get closer with several released shots, and the French player closed the game, 89-82.
Technical File
The technical details of the game are as follows: Baskonia had 89 points, with Forrest scoring 7, Baldwin scoring 5, Luwawu-Cabarrot scoring 20, Moneke scoring 18, and Samanic scoring 7. MacCabi Tel-Aviv had 82 points, with Blatt scoring 11, Randolph scoring 13, Shayok scoring 10, Sorkin scoring 16, and Williams scoring 12. The referees for the game were Sretan Radovic, Piotr Pastusiak, and Tomasz Trowicki. The game was played in the Fernando Buesa Arena Pavilion in Vitoria, with 7,155 spectators attending. Before the game, a demonstration took place, with hundreds of fans requesting the suspension of the game and showing support for Palestine.