Oded Kattash’s side used a 0-18 run in the fourth period to record its fifth straight win
Maccabi made the most of Bayern’s mistakes to guarantee postseason berth
Članak
3 Min čitanja
Regular Season
Round 31 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Maccabi Platyika Tel Aviv had two reasons to celebrate after its Round 31 contest at FC Bayern Munich came to its final conclusion.
First, the Yellows managed to grab their fifth win in a row, completing a perfect double-round week in the process. And second, Maccabi guaranteed itself a spot in the postseason by improving its record to 18-13, four wins more than the 11th-placed team.
“It was a great win for us in a tough place [to visit]. We played against a really aggressive, well-coached team,” Maccabi head coach Oded Kattash recognized in the post-game press conference. “Basically, I think we won the game twice – once in the second quarter and another time in the fourth quarter.”
Taking their foot off the gas
Katash was right because, to achieve that, Maccabi had to overcome a considerable rally from Bayern in the third period. The visitors seemed to be in full control of the game in the second quarter, having dominated Bayern en route to a 30-46 lead after 17 minutes. But Bayern came back and recovered a 69-65 edge early in the last quarter.
“I think we relaxed a little bit,” explained Maccabi center Josh Nebo after the game. “We didn't come out with the right energy, but you got to give credit to [Bayern]. They're a good team and of course they were going to fight back in the game. But I think we responded well in the fourth quarter.”
Bayern had no answer for Maccabi
The reaction Nebo mentions was a kind of perfect storm, as Maccabi outscored its opponent 0-18 in 6 minutes to totally break the game into pieces. Defensively, the Yellows collapsed Bayern’s offense in that time span, forcing several missed shots and turnovers. And that granted the visitors numerous opportunities to score in transition.
The defensive effort that brought that offensive excellence can be easily described by noticing that Maccabi got 10 steals off Bayern’s 16 turnovers, which turned into 23 points. Also, it enabled the Maccabi players to score easy baskets in transition; they collected 14 fastbreak points against Bayern’s 2, which also made the difference.
“In both of those quarters [the second and the fourth] we kept them on 12 and 14 points,” celebrated Coach Kattash. “That that was the key for us. Offensively, we were more consistent. In the third quarter they had a run but, again, we showed character.”