Both Israeli teams struggle in Euroleague

NOVEMBER 8, 2026 21:11It was a rough weekend for Israeli teams in the Euroleague, as both Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv came up short in their respective games. The two sides will meet twice this week in a pair of highly anticipated derbies: first in the Winner Cup final and then in a Euroleague matchup in Cyprus.Barcelona defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv 93-90 in a tightly contested matchup in Sofia, Bulgaria, as the Reds saw their Euroleague record drop to 6-4 on the season. Dimitrios Itoudis’s team saw Elijah Bryant and Vasilije Micic pour in the points, as the Reds were clearly in the driver’s seat throughout much of the contest.However, midway through the third quarter, with Hapoel clinging to a 60-53 lead, the visitors, led by Dario Brizuela, went on a 16-0 run to take the lead for good and never looked back as they notched the win. Bryant scored 25 points, and Micic added 24 in the loss, while Brizuela scored 22 points and Justin Robinson also contributed 22 points in the victory.Hapoel head coach Dimitrios Itoudis reflected on the loss.“It was a bad outcome for us. We wanted to win, but we played a hungrier team that forced us to give up 16 offensive rebounds. Giving up the nine-point lead so quickly in the third quarter was just too much.”DIMITRIOS ITOUDIS is making a quick impact with Hapoel Tel Aviv after taking over the head coaching reins from Stefanos Dedas just over a month ago. (credit: YEHUDA HALICKMAN)Sekulic credits team's defense for victoryBarcelona head coach Aleksander Sekulic spoke about the win.“The players did a great job on defense, and we wanted to limit their best scorers, as they have a lot of firepower. But we found a way. When we didn’t score, we rebounded and played together. Our defense led to our offense, and we made the opponent nervous. The main thing was our defense in winning the game.”Vasilije Micic had the hot hand for Hapoel Tel Aviv, while Josh Nebo countered inside for the Reds. Justin Robinson and Kevin Punter both scored for Barcelona, but a 3-pointer by Ish Wainright kept Hapoel in front, 21-19, after 10 minutes of play.Robinson and Nebo scored to begin the second quarter, while Wainright went from deep again. Blakeney and Micic both scored, Tosan Evbuomwan found points, and Dan Oturu started to become a factor inside. Elijah Bryant scored with ease, but Robinson continued to fill the basket, including a triple as time wound down, to even up the game at halftime, 46-46.Bryant and Tyrese Martin traded baskets, while the former kept scoring at will. Dario Brizuela began to chalk up the points to put the visitors in front, while Nebo also contributed as the period came to an end with Barcelona in front, 73-64, after 30 minutes of action.Martin, Robinson, Nebo and Brizuela all scored to get the fourth quarter off and running and give Barcelona a double-digit advantage. Bryant, Micic and Zach LeDay scored to cut the lead to 91-90 with less than half a minute to go, but a deuce by Brizuela and a wild miss at the buzzer by Micic secured the win for Barcelona.In Serbia, Maccabi Tel Aviv was crushed by Partizan Belgrade 88-67 as its record dropped to 2-8 in Euroleague play, marking its fourth consecutive loss in the competition. The defeat also marked the team’s sixth straight loss across all competitions, leaving Oded Katash’s squad in 18th place in the standings.Maccabi fell behind early, trailing 23-7 before cutting the deficit and finishing the first quarter down 28-23. However, Partizan regained control as the game progressed, taking a 50-35 lead at halftime while keeping the Yellow-and-Blue to single digits in each of the final three quarters and holding Maccabi’s perimeter shooting to just 5-of-23 (21.7%).Daniel Theis scored 11 points, Yam Madar added 10, and Jaylen Hoard scored nine in the loss, while Ethan Thompson scored 16 points, Lamar Stevens put in 14, and Antonio Reeves chipped in with 13 in the win.“The team competed very well, and we played very solid defense,” Partizan head coach Joan Penarroya said. “We controlled the rebounds, played together, and today we didn’t need Carlik Jones to score 25 or 30 points, although he still had an amazing game. For us, it’s very important that he shared the ball in a very mature performance.”“We’re struggling, and we’re playing without confidence,” Maccabi head coach Oded Katash said. “We were poor offensively and got off to a bad start. When you don’t have confidence, you have to keep things simple. We made some adjustments in the second half, but it wasn’t enough. I’m sorry, and I want to apologize to the fans. We have to change this situation quickly.”Thompson: 'It’s going to be a long season'Ethan Thompson shared his thoughts on the win: “I felt we played a pretty complete game, and I am happy with the win. It’s going to be a long season, and we’ll be asked to adjust a lot, so we’ll be required to play in different positions in line with the ‘next man’ attitude.”Bonzie Colson discussed the areas Maccabi needs to improve, emphasizing the importance of performing better on both ends of the floor.“It was a tough game. We need to focus on everything, both defensively and offensively. With the derby coming up in the next few days, we have to work hard, improve on both ends of the floor, and continue believing in the system and in each other. We need to find a way to get a win and get better.”See more Israeli sports coverage at www.sportsrabbi.com/enFollow us on Google