Coach Kattash hails the breakthrough victory as a turning point for his new-look squad
New Maccabi arrives: Kattash’s rebuilt squad shines to win historic derby
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 3 of 38
Regular Season
Hapoel IBI Tel AvivHTA
90103
Maccabi Rapyd Tel AvivMTA
Overview
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After Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv made history with a 90-103 victory over rival Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv in the first-ever EuroLeague game between Israeli clubs, Coach Oded Kattash had one message that he repeated several times. Whether it be with EuroLeague TV right after the game, in the post-game press conference or in Hebrew outside the locker room, Kattash spoke about Maccabi being a new team. He went on about how after losing its first two games of the season, it was able to use practice time to come together. And how important this win will be for the team going forward.
From the summer, when the Maccabi roster was coming together, it was clear Maccabi would be a work-in-progress. Of the main 14 players, eight of them were new to the club – and only two of those newcomers had ever played in the EuroLeague before.
On Wednesday at 8888 Arena in Sofia, Bulgaria, Maccabi showed glimpses of what may come as four of those new players accounted for 61 points. Lonnie Walker was dominant in flashes as he scored 20 points. Oshae Brissett muscled his way to 19 with near-perfect shooting. Jeff Dowtin Jr. was huge late as he scored all of his 13 points in the fourth quarter. And T.J. Leaf contributed 9 points in 11 and a half minutes.
Against a Hapoel team that has far more continuity, Maccabi took far better care of the ball, amassing 24 assists to 12 turnovers, while Hapoel committed more turnovers (16) that assists (15).
"We're a new team and we need to build. We needed to build our confidence," Kattash said in the press conference. "It's the way we reacted to the losses. We used those three days of practices to work good. I felt like we were positive with the right body language. And that's why the result is very important for us: building our confidence as a new team."
Kattash, a Maccabi star as a player and later a coach for Hapoel, of course understood the importance of winning the derby, particularly for the fans. All the Maccabi players, new and old, knew how much it would mean. But more important is getting a feel for how good Maccabi can still be.
"Guys were coming in early to get shots, staying later to get shots. We can tell that everyone was really focused for this game, and now we've got to keep it rolling. That's when we get even more confidence for next week for sure," Brissett said after the game. " We saw what we're made of. So now we just got to keep it rolling. Keep it going. And keep winning for our fans back at home."
Walker not only led Maccabi in scoring, but had several possessions where he exposed double teams to find open men and he finished with 4 assists. He led Maccabi in +/- with +11 in just 22 minutes. Alongside his dominant stretches, Walker also some turnovers that will likely go away as the chemistry with his teammates grows.
Dowtin was non-factor through three quarters before netting 11 points and 3 assists in the fourth. Brissett was brilliant, coming off a game in which he had only 3 points. Leaf shot 4 for 4.
Veterans Jaylen Hoard (13 points), Roman Sorkin (12 points) and Tamir Blatt (11 points, 7 assists) contributed as usual. But the play of the others begs the question of how good Maccabi can be when the chemistry improves, when Walker fits better into the flow of the offense, when Dowtin and Brissett become more consistent, when Leaf can take on a bigger role.
"I'm really happy for the players. We need to collect team experiences, to build our confidence and to believe in our team and our process," Kattash summed up.
It won’t get easier for Kattash and co. as they face FC Barcelona and Olympiacos Piraeus in next week's games. But with the confidence gained from this win, Maccabi will be much tougher the next time it takes the court.
