By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv seemed to be in trouble for three quarters, but they dominated ALBA Berlin in the end and got an easy 83-70 win. To be exact, the partial score in the last five minutes was 20-5 in favor of the winners.
Jarell Martin with 21 points and seven rebounds was the top scorer of Maccabi having his best EuroLeague game, Jalen Adams added 17, however once more in the crucial moments Lorenzo Brown with 15 points and seven assists made things happen.
“It was big for us”, said Martin. “We picked our defensive intensity up, we crushed the boards and everything started changing for us. That’s a big momentum change for us, it was hard for us on the road at the start”.
“We just want to keep rolling”, added Adams.
To be exact Maccabi has now two road wins and an 8-7 record, while ALBA remains at the bottom of the standings with a 3-12 record.
“Our energy, our focus, our concentration, our communication changed in the second half”, said coach Oded Kattash. “We showed a lot of heart and I am proud of my players”.
Maodo Lo scored 16 points for the losing side but it was not enough as his team scored in total just 23 points in the second half.
Initially, it was a close contest with Maccabi trailing by seven at halftime (47-40) and by two (63-61) entering the last period. The game turned into a dogfight with the guests finally getting the 66-65 lead after a goal foul by Bonzie Colson.
That was the end of it for ALBA. Maccabi jumped to an 81-65 lead, making an 18-0 run with Colson scoring all his seven points during this time and Brown also adding five, and Jalen Adams scoring a three.
“We didn’t have enough energy in the last quarter and they played better than us”, admitted ALBA coach Israel Gonzalez.