In a rematch of last season’s Euroleague Championship, Maccabi Tel-Aviv narrowly edged out previously undefeated Real Madrid 90-86 for an important Top 16 victory on Thursday night.
Greek center Sofoklis Schortsanitis (known as Sofo in Europe), stood out for Maccabi Tel-Aviv, scoring 11 of his 17 points in the opening period, and drawing eight fouls to go along with his eight rebounds. Former Memphis Grizzlies guard Jeremy Pargo also put in a strong performance for the winning side, going for 11 points and 9 assists and this sick dunk.
Real Madrid got off to a strong start and led 31-23 after the opening period, but were outpaced the rest of the way by a Maccabi team that has been on a roll lately in both the Euroleague and the Israeli League. When crunch time rolled around and Real Madrid needed to get stops to get back in the game, Devin Smith and Brian Randle were able to penetrate through the defense for high-percentage looks. Even former lottery pick Joe Alexander managed to grab a clutch rebound and make an important pair of free throws in the last two minutes for Maccabi.
In a losing effort for Madrid, longtime Spanish National Team member Felipe Reyes scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds on his way to breaking the Euroleague’s all-time rebounding record. With his 1288th career board, Reyes passed Turkish legend Mirsad Turkan for the honor of the competition’s all-time leading rebounder. While Reyes couldn’t celebrate this achievement with a win, he brought the type of grittiness, timely shot-making and, most importantly, the overall passion and intensity that he has made him a fan favorite throughout his career.
While both teams sit atop of the standings of Group E, currently tied at 4-1, a lot has changed for both squads since they met in the Euroleague Final in May. Maccabi’s former Head Coach David Blatt has moved on to Cleveland, being replaced by his lead assistant, former Maccabi point guard Guy Goodes. Real Madrid’s star forward Nikola Mirotic moved to Chicago, being fittingly replaced by former Bull Andres Nocioni. Tyrese Rice, who rose to the occasion in the Final Four for Tel-Aviv, has moved to Khimky Moscow, being replaced by Pargo, who was an All-Euroleague performer for Maccabi in 2011 before heading to the NBA.
Although some of the faces may have changed, both teams still have the same DNA as the squads who battled it out for the title in Europe’s most prestigious competition just a year ago. Real Madrid still is heavily dependent on their backcourt combo of Sergio Llull (the Rockets have owned his draft rights since 2009) and Sergio Rodriguez, and the energetic play of Rudy Fernandez on the wing. Maccabi Tel-Aviv still alternates between two distinct styles of play, playing some of the game around “Sofo” in the post, and other portions of the game running constant pick-and-rolls through former Florida standout Alex Tyus.
Against Real Madrid, Sofo reminded everyone why he is one of Europe’s most unique players. It never gets old seeing a 6’9 roughly 350-pound behemoth abusing defenders fighting for position on the low block, and even diving on the floor for loose balls. While Sofo’s lack of foot speed is a clear disadvantage, he makes up for it by being hungry to go after any ball in his vicinity, and he constantly plays with a level of intensity that is very representative of the mentality of Greek basketball. It is a shame that Sofo never made an appearance in the NBA, despite being drafted by the Clippers. He may never have been able to play more than 15 minutes a game due to his conditioning, but he is the type of player who sometimes puts such a big stamp on a game in those 15 minutes that it would have stat gurus and team builders re-evaluating the formula to build a roster.
Real Madrid will certainly be circling the two teams next meeting in Madrid on March 26, where they will need a better performance from the largely absent duo of Rudy Fernandez and Andres Nocioni. As Real knows all too well from last season, mid-year success doesn’t guarantee bringing home the title in May, and the Spanish side will certainly be one of the handful of teams in the mix, along with Maccabi Tel-Aviv, to win the Euroleague this season.