2011-12Top 16Round 3
February 02, 2012 CET: 20:45
Local time: 20:45 PALADESIO

Bennet Cantu defeated Maccabi Electra 82-74

Bennet Cantu protected its home court with an 82-74 victory over Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv on Thursday at Pala Desio that sets the stage for huge rematch next week in Israel. Vladimir Micov shined with 17 points and 9 assists and Ginaluca Basile buried 4 big three-pointers en route to 14 points for the hosts, who could potentially advance to the playoffs with a win next week. Cantu led practically all night – Maccabi’s only lead lasted a matter of seconds in the second quarter. Maccabi kept it close much of the game and was within 1 late in the third quarter before Giorgi Shermadini helped Cantu push ahead 70-60 early in the fourth. Maccabi rallied again and Demond Mallet’s three-point attempt that went in and out would have made it 72-71. Instead Basiel hit a three and later Maarty Leunen did the same as the hosts rolled to the win. Shermadini finished with 13 points and Manu Markoishvili added 11 points and 7 rebounds for the winners, who are now 2-1 in Group H. Keith Langford paced Maccabi with 16 points and Richard Hendrix added 15 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocked shots as Maccabi dropped to 1-2.

Maccabi used a new starting lineup with veteran Theo Papaloukas at point guard. Cantu won the opening tip and went ahead quickly on a Leunen triple. Papaloukas fed Schortsanitis in the paint for the visitors’ first points. An active Micov got in for a three-point play and Leunen found Denis Marconato inside on mismatches to make it 10-4. Big Sofo was Maccabi’s first choice on offense and he went over Marconato to close to 12-8. Basile connected from downtown, but Papaloukas fed a wide-open David Blu for a three at the other end. The fast pace and constant cheering from the Cantu fans added to the superb atmosphere. Yogev Ohayon came in and hit a jumper from the middle of the lane to keep Maccabi within 4. Andrea Cinciarini penetrated for a tough basket and Micov nailed a long jumper as the hosts looked to pull away. Ohayon drove for a pretty score only to see Micov dish to Shermadini. But at the other end, Langford went up fearlessly for a three-point play that brought the Israeli champs within 23-20 after 10 minutes.

Maccabi went in front early in the second quarter on a bucket inside from Schortsanitis and an Ohayon steal that led to a Lior Eliyahu layup. Markoishvili hit from three-point land to put the hosts back ahead briefly until Eliyahu evened the score at 26-26. Shermadini went through Blu for a basket-plus-foul. Langford soon countered with a triple to beat the shot clock, but Micov answered from downtown. Nicolas Mazzarino attacked Tal Burstein for a basket-plus foul and a Markoishvili steal and layup suddenly had the hosts up by double figures and Maccabi head coach David Blat calling for timeout. The momentum remained with the hosts as Langford missed a fast break layup and instead Leunen fed Shermadini for a slam and a 43-31 lead. A Langford three and Hendrix’s basket underneath cut the deficit down to 7. A clever pass from Eliyahu to a cutting Burstein made it 47-42. Free throws by Micov and Hendrix left the scoreboard at 49-44 at halftime.

Langford sank a jumper to open the second half. Basile bettered him with a three-pointer. Blu narrowed the gap with two baskets from close range, but Basile came right back with a three to make it 55-50. After a timeout, Eliyahu spun in the paint for a one-handed score. Micov continued to lead the hosts and added 2 more free throws. Demond Mallet’s first points of the game came from a three-pointer in the corner to close the gap to 57-55. Hendrix impressed with a spin move and a two-handed jam to make it a 1-point game. Shermadini pushed back for Cantu with a pair of free throws and then Micov hit a three. The back-and-forth thrills continued with a Mallet triple and then one from Greg Brunner to make it 66-60 heading into the fourth quarter.

A Shermadini jumper brought about cheers and after the center stopped Schortsanitis, he got to the line to lift the hosts to 70-60. Hendrix came in to replace Schortsanitis and immediately scored on a tip-in. Smith added a Maccabi basket, Hendrix rejected Shermadini and then the momentum swung all the way to Maccabi when Mazzarino commited an unsportsmanlike foul on a breaking away Langford, whose free throws made it a 4-point game. Hendrix denied Shermadini once more, so Cantu went to the bench for Marconato, who scored to make it 72-66. Mallet tried a triple that went in and out and instead Basile nailed his fourth three to swing the pendulum back to Cantu, 75-68. A long Markoishvili jumper with three-and-a-half minutes to play put the hosts firmly in control. And after Hendrix free throws, a Leunen triple made it a 10-point game. Langford got to the basket for a three-point play, but a Basile jumper just about iced the game with two minutes to go. Marconato fouled out with 1:11 to go, but left to a standing ovation as the home crowd started to celebrate a huge win.

Thursday, February 2, 2012
Euroleague.net
Referees: ARTEAGA, JUAN CARLOS; ANKARALI, RECEP; RADOVIC, SRETEN
Attendance: 6133 (Tentative)
By Quarter1234
Bennet Cantu23261716
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv20241614
End of Quarter1234
Bennet Cantu23496682
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv20446074
Bennet Cantu
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 MICOV, VLADIMIR 32:01 17 3/6 2/4 5/5 1 1 2 9 1 4 1 1 3 7 24
9 MARKOISHVILI, MANUCHAR 28:19 11 3/5 1/4 2/2 2 5 7 1 2 2     1 3 16
10 LEUNEN, MAARTEN 28:23 6 0/1 2/4     1 1 4 1       3 1 7
11 MARCONATO, DENIS 15:37 6 3/5       1 1 1     1   5   2
12 MAZZARINO, NICOLAS 18:04 7 2/2 0/2 3/3   1 1     1     1 3 7
17 DIVIACH, MARCO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
19 SHERMADINI, GIORGI 25:23 13 4/9   5/5 3 2 5 2 3 1 2 2 2 5 20
20 CINCIARINI, ANDREA 18:33 4 2/2       2 2     1     1   4
21 BOLZONELLA, FEDERICO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
22 ABASS, AWUDU DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
25 BRUNNER, GREG 11:34 4 0/2 1/1 1/2   1 1 1     1 2 2 1 1
55 BASILE, GIANLUCA 22:06 14 1/2 4/7     4 4 1         3 2 14
Team           1   1               1
Totals 200:00 82 18/34 10/22 16/17 7 18 25 19 7 9 5 5 21 22 96
        52.9% 45.5% 94.1%
Head coach: TRINCHIERI, ANDREA
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 PAPALOUKAS, THEODOROS 4:41               2         1   1
5 HENDRIX, RICHARD 24:21 15 4/4   7/8 3 4 7   1 2 3   1 5 27
6 SMITH, DEVIN 24:10 6 1/4 0/2 4/4   2 2 1   2     3 2 1
7 BLU, DAVID 27:27 7 2/4 1/3   1 4 5     1     2 1 6
8 ELIYAHU, LIOR 16:43 6 3/7     2 1 3 1       2     4
9 MALLET, DEMOND 20:08 8 1/2 2/4     1 1     1     4   1
10 PNINI, GUY 4:33           1 1             1 2
11 BURSTEIN, TAL 15:29 4 2/2 0/1         2         3 1 3
12 OHAYON, YOGEV 17:34 4 2/2       2 2 1 1 1     3 1 5
14 SCHEYER, JONATHAN 0:09                              
21 SCHORTSANITIS, SOFOKLIS 15:30 8 4/8     2 2 4   1 3 1 1 3 4 7
22 LANGFORD, KEITH 29:15 16 3/9 2/4 4/4 1 4 5 1   3 1 2 2 6 14
Team           2   2               2
Totals 200:00 74 22/42 5/14 15/16 11 21 32 8 3 13 5 5 22 21 73
        52.4% 35.7% 93.8%
Head coach: BLATT, DAVID

Head Coaches

TRINCHIERI, ANDREA
Bennet Cantu
“We played a great game, with an incredible intensity and it was also beautiful to watch for the fans. We played with the correct psychology. We had the pleasure to play it, we enjoyed it. In front of 7,000 fans, sold out for a week, against such a big team – it was very difficult, but being positive made us positive in everything we did on the court. Our game had great quality, and were happy for ourselves and for our fans.”
BLATT, DAVID
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
“Congratulations to Cantu. It was a hard-played game, but in the end they played better and deserved to win. The three-point shot made the difference and you cannot win away shooting a bad percentage. Now there is a very interesting situation in the group and the game next week will be crucial. They’ve done a great job losing just a game at home and Im not surprised about their performance tonight.”

Players

BASILE, GIANLUCA
Bennet Cantu
"After a season of not playing, it wasn't easy, but now I'm very happy for myself and the team. We played a pefect game on the mental and physical sides. We wanted to be aggressive on defense from the beginning and we were and we never stopped. They are used to this kind of game, but we never gave up and we found our offensive rhythm by being aggreessive on defense and it was crucial for our performance."
LANGFORD, KEITH
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
“They played very well and the three-point shot made the different – we played bad defense on it, despite talking about it in preparing for the game. So considering we play a crucial game against them next week, we have to take that into account. They were able to trap our big men with an aggressive defense that got us in trouble.”
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