Maccabi, Hapoel Tel Aviv win in Europe

Maccabi Tel Aviv got by a pesky ASVEL Villeurbanne 94-91 on Wednesday night in Euroleague action as Wade Baldwin was tremendous down the stretch to help the Israel side take the win.

In what was a back-and-forth game throughout, the yellow-and-blue were just one basket better than the French squad as the evenly matched clubs battled toe-to-toe throughout the 40 minutes.

Baldwin scored a number of clutch baskets down the stretch and also blocked Nando De Colo’s last-gasp effort to tie the game up as time expired to move Maccabi’s Euroleague record to 7-5.

Next up for Oded Katash’s team is a date at Bologna on Friday night just after the Italians picked up a 80-75 win over Spanish giant Barcelona.

Baldwin scored 21 points and dished out eight assists, Lorenzo Brown added 16 points while Roman Sorkin and Bonzie Colson scored 15 points apiece in the win. Joffrey Lauvergne scored 23 points for ASVEL, De Colo chipped in with 22 points while Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 19 points in the loss.

“We were not there defensively and we were always one second late,” Katash said. “Some of it was because of the game-shape and rhythm of some players. We should and can play better, especially defensively. It was a weird game and too many things happened. We have to give a lot of credit to ASVEL, they had great one-on-one situations and they punished us, but we found a way to win and I am happy with that.”

Baldwin commented on the game

“It was a hell of a game; ASVEL is a tough team with a new coach and they are trying to build and win. When you step into the ring with, in my opinion, the best European guard to play, it’s a battle. I was really honored to make the stop and I am happy for this team as we are fighting through all the battles that we have to go through as a club . We will continue to show grit and continue to show fight and string together some wins.”

Brown, Sorkin and Bonzie Colson scored to begin the proceedings for Maccabi Tel Aviv, Villeurbanne built a five-point lead before a half-court buzzer-beating heave by Tamir Blatt went in to cut the lead to 19-17 after 10 minutes of play.Baldwin led a 19-3 run Maccabi run for a 33-22 lead midway through the second period, but ASVEL came right back with a 15-0 run of their own and took a slim 46-45 advantage into halftime.

A full team effort, including another last-gasp end-of-quarter bucket, this one off the glass from Sorkin, gave Tel Aviv a 70-66 lead heading into the final frame.

With Maccabi still in front 77-74 midway through the fourth. Baldwin traded baskets a few times with Lauvergne. But the Maccabi guard would have the last statement, as a Baldwin layup followed up with a block on De Colo sealed the deal to give Maccabi the hard fought win.

Meanwhile, Hapoel Tel Aviv continued its fine EuroCup form with 95-80 win over Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana as five players scored in double digits to take the victory which now moves the Reds record to 7-2.

Danny Franco’s team stayed in front from the get-go, but couldn’t break away from the winless Slovenian squad as Tel Aviv headed into halftime up by only four points, at 45-41.

However, in the third quarter Braian Angola, J’Covan Brown, Idan Zalmanson and John Holland shifted gears to bump the Reds’ lead up to 69-59 after 30 minutes as Jaylen Hoard and Xavier Munford made sure that they never looked back to take the win.

Hoard scored 17 points, Angola chipped in with 15 points while Zalmanson added 12 points in the win. Jaka Blazic scored 21 points, Karl Matkovic added 19 points and DJ Stewart scored 14 points for Ljubljana in the loss.

“I’m happy that during the minutes that we weren’t at our best we knew how to stay together,” Franco said. “We trusted one another and were able to achieve another important win on the road which gave a bit of joy to our fans back home in Israel.”

Big man Zalmanson also spoke about the victory.

“I’m very happy about the win, especially one on the road that will allow us to battle for first place. Despite not playing great for a bunch of minutes we knew how to end the game well and I already can’t wait to see our fans on Saturday night back at our home arena.”

Also, Hapoel Holon fell to Telekom Bonn 72-65 as its Basketball Champions League record dropped to 3-2 and with one game remaining in the regular season group stage.

The Purples had all kinds of trouble scoring early and had to dig out of an early hole, however Amit Sherf’s team grabbed a slim 55-54 lead after the third quarter.

But Holon once again had issues putting the ball in the basket in the fourth quarter as Roel Moors’s squad held the hosts and grabbed the win.

In two weeks Holon will play its final group game against Bursaspor as it will look to punch its ticket to either the second group stage or at least the Play-In Round.

Shawn Dawson led the way for Holon with 15 points, Drew Crawford added 11 points and CJ Harris chipped in with 10 points in the loss. Savion Flagg, Christian Flagg and Noah Kirkwood all scored 12 points for Bonn in the win.

“We started poorly and they ran out to an 18-4 lead,” Holon head coach Amit Sherf began. “From that moment we fought and went for the rebounds and played better one-on-one. The second half we struggled, especially in the fourth quarter when we couldn’t score a point in the first five minutes. This is the level we want to be and we will need to find our flow on offense when our threes don’t go in. We missed some momentum threess as well and we needed to find more inside when we are forced to do so.”

“It was a very difficult game,” Bonn coach Moors began. “Holon is a very solid and structured team that plays a good defensive set. We didn’t turn the ball over much and it was clear that we won the game on defense as we held Holon to 65 points. The game did not have much rhythm, but we came out with the win.”Holon’s Yotam Hanochi looked back at the contest.

“We were there and came back after a bad first half. We were up by a point and we needed to run and play our basketball to finish the game and we didn’t do that. We lost on the small things and offensive rebounds. We are a strong group and we will overcome this. We worked hard and I believe in our team.”