Maccabi exorcised its Stark Arena demons with Thursday's come-from behind win over Crvena Zvezda
The story behind Maccabi's 'winning time' performance and 'precious' win
Article
3 Mins read
For the first 20 minutes of last night's game, it seemed as if Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv was heading towards another disappointing defeat at Belgrade's Stark Arena. The team was on a truly unbelievable negative run at this venue in the Serbian capital.
"It is a big one for us, we had some memories here in this gym," Maccabi head coach Oded Kattash commented, unprompted, after his team came back to beat Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 80-84.
Regular Season
Round 29 of 34
Regular Season
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet BelgradeCZV
8084
Maccabi Playtika Tel AvivMTA
Overview
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Back in Round 21 in January, Maccabi played at the same venue against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade and led 15-39 with 7 minutes left in the first half. Coach Kattash's men went on to squander that lead by the fourth quarter, lose against Partizan by 9 points. They then displayed more worrying basketball in the first half against Crvena Zvezda, finding themselves down 49-31 in the opening minute of the third quarter.
In those four-plus quarters of EuroLeague basketball at Stark Arena, separated by two months, Maccabi was outscored by a-believe-it-or-not 51 points. Precisely, 122-71.
But, there was still one half of basketball to play, and even though only the most optimistic Maccabi fans still believed in a turnaround, it did happen. It was a memorable one, and it meant a lot.
"It's a kind of a closure for us," Kattash said of the comeback win at Stark Arena.
So, how did Maccabi do it?
"I told the guys the only way we can come back to the game is together. But that we have to relax," Kattash touched on his halftime locker room speech.
It started with the belief that after playing some of its worst basketball of the season, on both ends of the floor, Kattash and the team still felt they just needed to string together a few minutes of good basketball to regain confidence.
But it was not the offense that started clicking right after the break for Maccabi, the second best scoring team in the competition, which entered the night averaging 87.0 points per game. It was the defense that made the difference.
Maccabi deployed a 2-2-1 zone press that started shaking the confidence of Zvezda point guard Yago Dos Santos, the only true ball-handler the depleted Zvezda had. The energy for Maccabi first came from Antonius Cleveland, whose aggressive defense helped force back-to-back turnovers leading to easy buckets and cutting the margin to 12 points.
Zvezda recouped, but Maccabi did not allow the hosts to pull away again, rather waiting to strike again.
Cleveland's role was an example of the team "sticking together," as star guard Wade Baldwin explained later.
But even though Cleveland might have been the one to jump-start the team with a much-needed boost of energy, it was Maccabi's poker of stars – Lorenzo Brown, Baldwin, Bonzie Colson and Josh Nebo, who led the key fourth-quarter run.
Maccabi was still down by 8 points entering the final quarter, only to open it with a 2-17 run to grab a 63-70 lead, which it never relinquished.
Brown and Baldwin orchestrated the offense, Josh Nebo dominated in the paint, especially on the offensive glass, and Colson was just about everywhere.
"I really liked the way we played in the second half, both sides [of the ball]," Kattash said. "We showed character."
Game Videos
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Zalgiris Kaunas-Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade | Round 21 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
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Ojeleye's big block! Motorola Magic Moment
![https://media-cdn.cortextech.io/38e910be-e79e-463b-8807-25c5ff3e2114.jpg]()
Real Madrid-Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv | Round 21 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
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FC Barcelona-Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv | Round 20 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
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Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade-Valencia Basket | Round 20 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
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Roman Sorkin hammers it! Motorola Magic Moment
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FC Bayern Munich-Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv | Round 19 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
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Anadolu Efes Istanbul-Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade | Round 19 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
- 00:17
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Brissett beats the buzzer with a three! Motorola Magic Moment
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Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade-Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv | Round 18 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
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TJ Leaf hammers it home! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:13
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Roman Sorkin on the fly! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:18
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Walker with a tomahawk dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/c1Wwol1r3SI/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Paris Basketball-Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade | Round 18 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
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Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv-Valencia Basket | Round 17 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
- 00:19
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Clark grabs the steals and finishes ferociously! Motorola Magic Moment
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Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv-Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade | Round 16 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
- 00:11
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Ebuka Izundu converts the alley-oop! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:13
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Jared Butler beats the first-quarter buzzer! Motorola Magic Moment
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Dubai Basketball-Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv| Round 16 highlights | EuroLeague 2025-26
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Lundberg feeds Brissett for the game-winning dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/1Hyo3rd1Hp4/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade-Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade | Round 15 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
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Classic Game: Partizan vs. Crvena Zvezda
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Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv-LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne | Round 15 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
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Blatt finds Hoard for an alley-oop! Motorola Magic Moment
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EuroLeague & Friends Global with Bogdan Bogdanovic on the Serbian Derby’s CRAZY Atmosphere
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Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade-FC Barcelona | Round 14 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
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Motiejunas helps Zvezda run with nifty pass! Motorola Magic Moment
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Zalgiris Kaunas-Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv | Round 14 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/rqZNcsbt890/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade-Olympiacos Piraeus | Round 13 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
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Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv-EA7 Emporio Armani Milan | Round 13 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
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Moneke soars! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:17
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Kalinic does it all! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:16
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Jordan Nwora hammers it home! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:16
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Kalinic banks it in to beat the shot clock! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:08
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Marcio Santos rejects Quinn Ellis! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:10
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Marcio Santos rocks the rim! Motorola Magic Moment
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Valencia Basket-Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade | Round 12 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
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Virtus Bologna-Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv | Round 12 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
- 00:09
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Sorkin with a mighty dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
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Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv-Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | Round 11 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
- 00:11
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Dowtin lobs to Sorkin for an alley-oop! Motorola Magic Moment
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/Ahme4_CLRUg/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade-AS Monaco | Round 11 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
- 00:16
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T.J. Leaf rebounds and sinks crafty reverse lay-up! Motorola Magic Moment,
- 00:12
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Butler finds Ojeleye for the hammer! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:14
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Uros Plavsic and the fierce put-back! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:11
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Semi Ojeleye with a big dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/eRT3abTcJPA/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul-Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv | Round 10 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
"I think we just started to compete harder," Nebo added after a huge game with 18 points, 13 rebounds, including 8 on offense, and 3 blocks. The big man did not hide that he was particularly tired, having spent 30 minutes on the floor. "We got down big in the first half so we had to exert a lot of energy in the second half just to cut it close."
He called it a "precious" win, while Baldwin, who finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, pointed out it is a "very important time of the season".
"It's winning time, it's March, it's time to make a playoff push and we executed late in the game," Baldwin said.
That focus, effort and execution in the second half led Maccabi to ending several streaks. It was team's first road win over Zvezda in more than a decade and snapped a six-game losing streak against the same opponent.
It also put all the Stark Arena ghosts to rest.
And it was also the team's third consecutive win which improved it to 16-13, not losing a step in the playoff race. Something that did not look very likely after two quarters of play.