Maccabi Tel Aviv fail to land world title
Maccabi Tel Aviv’s bid to become the best basketball club side in the world were quashed on Sunday after they lost the second leg of the 2014 FIBA Euroleague Intercontinental cup 90-77.
The Israelis went into Sunday’s match in Rio de Janeiro on the back of a 69-66 first leg win against Flamengo, though lost the tie overall by a ten-point aggregate.
Jeremy Pargo top-scored with 21 points in the first game, and repeated the feat on Sunday, as he netted a further 28 points.
Head coach Guy Goodes said: “We started well, but behind the fantastic crowd they had here, Flamengo came back. When you come to games for a title, your defence needs to be better and in that we fell. We allowed 27 points in the first quarter and 26 in the fourth. We had the momentum when we closed the gap to 1 and we missed three open three-pointers that could have made the difference.
“Sometimes that’s the difference between winning and losing. Flamengo made their big run and from that point it was hard to come back. Sadly, after just a month together, it looks like we are not ready for this level of intensity. It takes time.”
Captain Guy Pnini said: “It’s definitely unpleasant to lose this title. We messed up. Congratulations to Flamego, who played really well. There was a great basketball atmosphere here. They wanted it more and won. We need to look forward; this is only the start of the season. We have a new team that’s been together for only a month and we’re already playing for a title. That’s not easy. We have a long road ahead and I believe that we’ll improve and get better. It was great to play here in this arena. For games like this you train all your life. “
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