Head coach Oded Kattash praised his players after they showed remarkable resolve to beat Panathinaikos in the face of adversity.
Maccabi shifted its focus back to basketball against Panathinaikos
Άρθρο
3 Χρόνος Ανάγνωσης
Regular Season
Round 4 of 34
Regular Season
Panathinaikos AKTOR AthensPAO
8186
Maccabi Playtika Tel AvivMTA
Overview
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Maccabi Tel Aviv gave its fans something to cheer about with an epic 81-86 overtime win at Panathinaikos Athens at a time when sports have taken a back seat in Israel. The ongoing war there has naturally affected Maccabi's players in many ways, including of course the team's schedule, ability to train together and their focus.
The club's Round 2 road game against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan was suspended and rescheduled for the end of the month. Several of Maccabi's non-Israeli players relocated to Cyprus while its home-grown players spent time visiting children relocated from their homes due to the war.
Having lost 75-66 to Valencia on Wednesday, with the fixture swiftly moved to Spain from Tel Aviv, Maccabi headed to Athens in a somber mood, but once there, the six-time continental champion found the strength to refocus.
Having seen his men grind out an emotional, rollercoaster win in the Greek capital, Coach Oded Kattash stressed just how demanding the circumstances have been for Maccabi.
"The last two weeks weren’t easy for us and today we promised ourselves we would focus on basketball more than on other things," Kattash said in a courtside interview, moments after the game.
"Like I said after the game against Valencia, basketball comes second for us these days and two days ago we weren’t there with the right energy," Kattash added at the press conference. "At this morning’s team meeting [before the game with Panathinaikos], we decided to focus on what we do best and that’s playing basketball. We came out with a different energy, we helped and supported each other.
"Giving people back home at least some joy is the least we can do, but winning or losing basketball games comes second right now. If we managed to lift them even a little bit, it’s our small part in a tough situation."
Asked whether Maccabi would be able to keep playing their home games in Tel Aviv, Kattash said: "We don’t know, I don’t have an answer to that right now. Not being able to plan more than a week or two ahead is a separate challenge. I wish something could hopefully happen to change the situation quickly but we have to wait and see."
Tough times for the Greens
The loss ended a sour week for Panathinaikos after Wednesday’s 83-69 setback at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and it showed the new-look team is still very much a work in progress.
There is no doubt that Coach Ergin Ataman, who took over during the summer, has the credentials to build a side that should in due course feature as a genuine contender, but he has a formidable task on his hands after guiding Anadolu Efes Istanbul to back-to-back EuroLeague titles in 2021 and 2022.
Ataman’s frustration with his team’s inability to gel as quickly as he would like boiled over during the loss to Maccabi when he was ejected from the game midway through the third quarter for loud protests over an officiating decision. A galvanized Panathinaikos, which trailed by 15 points at halftime, then found an extra gear to launch an ultimately futile fightback, although the hosts came agonizingly close to winning in the final minute of regular time.
"We're very disappointed," said Ataman’s assistant Christos Herelis, who took over from the Turkish tactician after he was given his marching orders by the officials, said. "We were aggressive in the second half, but in the end we only have ourselves to blame for losing."