Maccabi Tel Aviv still sizzling in Europe

Maccabi Tel Aviv eased by Valencia 95-80 this week to notch a sixth Euroleague win in a row and bump its continental record up to 19-13, putting it in the thick of the race for an automatic spot in the quarterfinals.

The yellow-and-blue took a bit of time to warm up as Wade Baldwin and Jasiel Rivera traded baskets with Semi Ojeleye, Kassius Robertson and Damien Inglis. But Josh Nebo and James Webb battled hard in the second quarter and made sure that Maccabi headed into halftime with a 48-38 advantage.

Antonius Cleveland, Baldwin and Bonzie Colson along with Tamir Blatt and Rivero continued to bump up the lead, while Nebo was dominant in the paint as Oded Katash’s side notched the victory.

Baldwin scored 17 points, Nebo added 15 points while Colson, Cleveland and Rivero all scored 10 points in the win. Ojeleye scored 15 points for Valencia, Robertson added 13 points as Inglis chipped in with 12 points in the loss.

Next up for Maccabi Tel Aviv is an Israeli League game against Hapoel Galil Elyon on Saturday night which will be followed by an Israel State Cup quarterfinal matchup against Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan.

“This was a great team win for us and it came through our defense,” Katash said. “The first quarter we allowed some easy layups and they got more offensive rebounds than us and they shot the ball better than us, but we slowed them down over the other three quarters and I am very happy. Reaching 19 wins is a big achievement, especially due to the circumstances. We still have two more to go and it’s going to be challenging. Barcelona and Milano, which are big names.”

“We came to play a team that has won 15 games in a row,” Valencia coach Alex Mumbru said. “We started the game cold and Maccabi knew what they would find in the game. They scored a lot of points. In the second half we tried to get better and we pulled close, but couldn’t control some key moments that decided the game.”

Israel State Cup first-round

In Israel State Cup first-round action, Hapoel Jerusalem defeated Hapoel Galil Elyon 89-69 as the Capital City Reds punched their ticket to the quarterfinals, where they will host Hapoel Tel Aviv on Sunday.

The visitors got off to a hot start with points from Omar Silverio and Shonn Miller as well as Roi Huber, but the hosts started to chip away at the lead with Speedy Smith and Zach Hankins doing the damage but they grabbed the advantage in the third quarter with buckets by JaCorey Williams, Khadeen Carrington and Oz Blayzer to cruise to the win.

Smith scored 17 points and added 12 assists, Hankins chipped in with 16 points and Randolph scored 12 points in the victory. Chen Guy scored 16 points, Silverio added 15 points and Miller scored 12 points in the loss.

“We started the first half a bit slow,” said Jerusalem coach Shai Olerarczyk. “We weren’t as aggressive as we wanted to on both sides of the ball, but we made adjustments at halftime and we started to get going on our transition game.”

Elsewhere, Hapoel Beersheba stunned Bnei Herzliya 94-90 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Israel State Cup where it will head to Hapoel Holon on Saturday night.

Southern Reds coach Oren Aharoni returned to his old stomping ground where he saw his new recruit Mike Lewis score 25 points to help the visitors take the victory.

Lewis scored 25 points, while Koulechov and Gant each added 18 points in the victory. Bourdillon scored 23 points and McGuirl chipped in with 19 points in the loss.

Meanwhile, Hapoel Holon overwhelmed Hapoel Haifa 90-73 as the Purples held the advantage throughout the 40 minutes, while up north, Kiryat Ata downed Hapoel Eilat 80-61 as Sharon Avrahami’s squad jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.

Kiryat Ata will tip off on Saturday night in the quarterfinals against Ness Ziona, which got by Hapoel Afula 88-79.