This is the Maccabi Tel Aviv I was waiting for
When at the beginning of the season I was betting on Maccabi Tel Aviv to win the Euroleague at the odd 71.00 on 888sport, nobody would say it’s a good deal. But seeing their acquisitions campaign during the summer I was sure they prepare something big. The comeback od Omri Casspi was crucial, but as well the addition of many NBA-ers and for the first time in the last 4 seasons, Maccabi was looking impressive, having one of the largest rotation in Europe.
Yesterday, some of the experts gave Baskonia the first chance to win. I said nothing but for me the final result: 83-113 for the Israeli powerhouse is no surprise. The encounter faced exactly in a symbolical way two of the teams with different trajectory this season: Baskonia having no chance to reach the Final4, while Maccabi Tel Aviv, in the best shape, is able to be there in May 2020.
The big margin of the victory, in spite of the long journey made by Maccabi and Casspi’s absence, says a lot about the true value of each squad. Baskonia is playing very weak on both side of the court and only Toko Shengelia (31 points) and Patricio Garino (24 points) cannot take the team to the win. The majority of their players were almost “absent” yesterday, scoring very low numbers.
I hope this chemistry between the Maccabi players will remain like this for the future games and if this will happen they will be one of the strongest title contenders this Euroleague season as I said before the competition even started. They are in much better shape right now than many other big teams like CSKA, Fenerbahce, Olympiacos and so on. The home-court advantage in the Euroleague’s playoff would help Maccabi a lot to fulfil their dream to reach another Final 4.
Photo: Euroleague.net
Gratian Cormos
