Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Bayern Munich 111-106 in overtime over the weekend as the yellow-and-blue couldn’t miss from long distance, hitting 20 three-pointers to help chalk up the home win.
With the victory, Oded Katash’s squad improved its record to 13-15 in Euroleague play as it will now turn its attention to the State Cup and a semifinal date against Hapoel Jerusalem on Sunday night at Yad Eliyahu.
Prior to the game, a special ceremony was held in memory of David Federman, one of the Maccabi owners who passed away earlier in the week.
Roman Sorkin scored 21 points, Will Rayman added 16 points, and Jaylen Hoard recorded a 14-point-11 rebound double-double for Maccabi in the victory, while Andres Obst scored a game-high 33 points, and David McCormack put in 17 points for Bayern in the loss.
Katash reflected on the win.
“Bayern is really tough and a well-coached team. Both teams hit crazy shots and that was really tough for us and the game could have gone both ways, but we couldn’t have won without our fans.”
Sorkin also shared his thoughts on the win.
“We really enjoy playing at home in this arena. It’s not something you take for granted. The atmosphere here is a new experience, crazy energy. We’ll keep giving more and come in better prepared for our next games, but this was a big one.”
Meanwhile, Hapoel Tel Aviv fell at Zalgiris 93-82 as the Reds have now lost five Euroleague games in a row to drop their record to 16-13, good for sixth place in the standings.
Dan Oturu scored 22 points, Elijah Bryant added 17 points, and Vasilije Micic scored 16 points for Hapoel in the loss, while Wright scored 25 points, Sylvain Francisco put in 15 points, and Maodo Lo scored 13 points in the win.
“It hurt us a lot having 16 turnovers and allowing almost 70% on two-point shots,” Hapoel head coach Dimitris Itoudis said after the game. “The nearly 70% was because of one-on-one defense, transition defense, and [Zalgiris’s] offensive rebounds. That cost us a lot down the stretch, and we could not make the comeback afterward.”
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