By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
After sitting out Game 2 and Game 3 of a best-of-five series between Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv and Panathinaikos Aktor due to a left hamstring injury, Wade Baldwin IV seems to be heading to a game-time decision for Game 4.
“It is kind of a fitness test,” head coach Oded Kattash described the explosive guard’s participation in team practice in Belgrade on Wednesday, “His first work on the court since the injury. We will see how he feels.”
Overcoming the absence of the player with the highest performance index rating, the Yellows earned a 2-1 lead in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs series on Tuesday. A potential win in Aleksandar Nikolic Hall on Thursday would clinch a berth in the Final Four.
“I think this is a must-win game,” noted the 49-year-old Israeli play-caller, “There is pressure in every game, but you must channel it into good energy. Hopefully, we can come out with the desired result.”
“They want to win, just like us. We will prepare for a physical and aggressive game,” 27-year-old center Roman Sorkin expects a stronger showing by the Greens in Game 4, “We will stick to our game plan. It will be about who wants it more. Stay focused and hungry. Even if we are in the lead.”
Seeking a return to the Final Four for the first time since the 2014 EuroLeague championship, Maccabi potentially losing Game 4 would force a deciding Game 5 in Athens next Wednesday.
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net