Hapoel Tel Aviv eyes Euroleague playoffs whereas Maccabi prays for spot

[ad_1] Hapoel Tel Aviv defeated Fenerbahce 95-80 because the Reds closed in on clinching a playoff spot with a document of 22-13. In the meantime, an important contest awaits Maccabi as its aspirations are questioned.

Israeli groups in Euroleague motion had combined outcomes this week as Hapoel Tel Aviv took an enormous step towards not solely securing a playoff spot but additionally to holding home-court benefit, whereas Maccabi Tel Aviv’s play-in aspirations have been put into doubt.

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Hapoel Tel Aviv defeated Fenerbahce 95-80 because the Reds closed in on clinching a playoff spot with a document of 22-13, good for fourth place total within the standings.

Dimitrios Itoudis’s workforce got here out of fireplace as Elijah Bryant, Dan Oturu, Antonio Blakeney and Vasilije Micic have been capable of lead Tel Aviv to a 51-38 lead at halftime whereas neutralizing Talen Horton-Tucker and holding him scoreless over the opening 20 minutes.

Wade Baldwin tried to maintain the Turkish facet shut with 17 first-half factors, however was solely capable of rating 5 factors over the course of the second half as Hapoel cruised to the 15-point victory. Oturu scored 23 factors, Bryant added 21 factors, and Micic scored 19 factors within the win, whereas Baldwin scored 22 factors within the defeat.

Itoudis spoke concerning the win, saying, “First, I wish to congratulate the workforce. We have been the higher workforce from begin to end, so we should win at present. We received towards the defending champions, an excellent, well-coached workforce. It was an important sport, and I’m happy with the efficiency. We have been locked in with the best mindset from the start. We caught to the plan and the gamers executed brilliantly.”

<img alt="Soccer Football - UEFA Europa League - Maccabi Tel Aviv v Bologna - TSC Arena, Backa Topola, Serbia - January 29, 2026 Bologna's Tommaso Pobega scores their third goal (credit: REUTERS/MARKO DJURICA)" loading="lazy" width="800" height="523" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="standard-img" style="color:transparent" src="https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/3nUVzKhovB6klNFKb_oYiw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYyODtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/jerusalem_post_articles_818/d400451dfd6c74cba9e26094425ff7b5"/> Soccer Soccer - UEFA Europa League - Maccabi Tel Aviv v Bologna - TSC Enviornment, Backa Topola, Serbia - January 29, 2026 Bologna's Tommaso Pobega scores their third purpose (credit score: REUTERS/MARKO DJURICA)

Oturu, the sport’s MVP, mentioned the significance of the win. "We knew coming into the sport we have been beginning off a double week towards an excellent opponent, Fener, the defending champions, so it was vital for us to bounce again towards them and win," he stated. "We knew they have been going to come back and compete, so we needed to come out and punch first. We have now to match the vitality that they bring about every night time, and we needed to present that we have been able to compete. I feel we did that nicely on this sport.”

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In Spain, Maccabi Tel Aviv fell to Baskonia 101-98 in what was a severe blow to the yellow-and-blue’s Euroleague Play-In aspirations.

The loss dropped Oded Katash’s squad’s document to 18-17 as in addition they moved right down to twelfth place behind Dubai (19-17), which is in eleventh spot, whereas Monaco sits within the remaining Play-In place with a 19-16 document.

The yellow-and-blue jumped out to a 53-44 benefit at halftime with high quality capturing from the surface through Lonnie Walker and Jimmy Clark, together with inside scoring from Roman Sorkin. Nevertheless, Baskonia got here again with a 40-19 third quarter as Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Trent Forrest spurred the host’s scoring to take the lead and go on to the win.

Clark scored 26 factors, Walker added 23 factors and Sorkin put in 22 factors for Maccabi within the loss whereas Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 21 factors and Forrest scored 19 factors within the win.

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'It is greater than basketball' Subsequent up for Maccabi was an important contest in Paris late Thursday.

“Generally you lose video games on unhealthy angle, unhealthy physique language,” Katash stated. “We weren't collectively, we didn’t play the best approach. It’s greater than basketball, however it’s not us. Very powerful, a nasty loss for us.”

Maccabi ahead Will Rayman regarded forward to the membership’s subsequent few video games. “We have to concentrate on the subsequent three video games. We have now the tiebreaker over groups which can be near us, so if we win the remaining video games, we have now an opportunity.”