The 27-year-old shooting guard served up one of his best performances in Europe’s premier club competition
Wade Baldwin led Maccabi’s big three in tough win over ASVEL
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv looked like its three-game winning streak was coming to an end against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, as the Israeli side trailed for much of an enthralling contest. In yet another game played at a home away from home, Belgrade’s Aleksandar Nikolic Hall, where Maccabi hosts its rivals due to the ongoing war in Israel, it came down to pure grit and determination.
It’s been a tough environment for Maccabi, which moved to the Serbian capital after playing its opening game of the season against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in Tel Aviv, but the former winners of six continental championships have stepped up to the plate.
Maccabi has engineered a 10-4 record in Belgrade and on Tuesday night it overcame a spirited challenge from ASVEL on the back of superb performances from the team’s top three players, none more so than Wade Baldwin.
The guard lit up the contest with a staggering tally of 30 points, 10 assists and 5 rebounds, stealing the show from his ASVEL counterpart Nando De Colo who became the first EuroLeague player to surpass the mark of 5,000 PIR points.
Baldwin carried Maccabi with a heroic solo effort, complemented by massive contributions from towering center Josh Nebo (18 points and 10 rebounds) and Bonzie Colson (23 points).
In his post-game comments, Baldwin acknowledged that Maccabi dug deep to grind out a precious win, keeping the team firmly in the post-season picture, as it also boosted its hopes of clinching an automatic playoff berth.
“We continued to find a way to win games,” said Baldwin, who turns 28 later this month. “We have guys who are committed to doing the right things and play hard when we need to. We are competing to beat a top-six team and tonight was a good push to get there."
Baldwin then highlighted that Maccabi has toughened up in the face of adversity, having been unable to play in front of their passionate home fans all season.
“Everyone around the league knows the circumstances we are going through this year, but it’s not an excuse. We’ve used it as an excuse for far too long but it’s not an excuse anymore, we have to continue to find ways to win games,” he said.
Nebo concurred with Baldwin in his assessment that it was a hard-fought victory against battling ASVEL: “The game wasn’t pretty, we didn’t play our best basketball but we found a way to win and that’s the most important thing right now,” he said. “It’s not easy playing with no fans but we’ve been doing it all year so we are now used to it.”
Head coach Oded Kattash stressed that the performance left something to be desired but lauded his team for stepping up to the plate late in the game when the chips were down.
“The pressure was on us, especially at this stage of the season,” Kattash commented. “We missed some open shots and it made an impact at the other end of the court, but once again we showed character to beat a good team. We face another aggressive team in our next game at Bayern Munich, which is also a tough place to play.”