2021-22Regular SeasonRound 1
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 69
FC Bayern Munich 68
September 30, 2021 CET: 20:05
Local time: 21:05 MENORA MIVTACHIM ARENA

Wilbekin's heroics lift Maccabi over Bayern

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv opened its 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season with a thrilling 69-68 victory over FC Bayern Munich as Scottie Wilbekin shined in front of a sold-out home crowd with a career-best performance. The Maccabi star matched his career-high of 28 points in carrying his team back from a 9-point deficit in the final 6 minutes. Maccabi needed to shut down Bayern after playing a whirlwind first 15 minutes as the team built a 17-point lead to the pleasure of 11,192 fans at the Menora Mivtachim Arena. John DiBartolomeo added 8 points for the winners. DeShaun Thomas paced Bayern with 15 points, Corey Walden had 14, Othello Hunter 11 and Augustine Rubit chipped in 10 in the loss.

Rubit hit a turn-around jumper for Bayern’s first points of the season while James Nunnally answered with a three-pointer for the hosts’ first score. Wilbekin’s three free throws gave Maccabi its first lead at 8-5 and Keenan Evans converted a three-point play to put Maccabi up 13-8. After Walden sparked Bayern back ahead 13-14, DiBartolomeo and Wilbekin both hit from deep in a 9-2 run and Wilbekin’s jumper at the buzzer had Maccabi up 25-18 after 10 minutes. The Maccabi shooting continued in the second frame with DiBartolomeo and Wilbekin hitting from deep and Kam Taylor finished the 10-0 start to the quarter for a 35-18 lead. Thomas finally stopped the rut after nearly 5 minutes. That proved to be an initial momentum change as Zan Sisko hit a three-pointer in a 1-12 Bayern surge to pull within 38-32. Maccabi managed to go into the locker room ahead 40-32.

Bayern continued its tough defense early in the second half. Thomas scored inside and Nick Weiler-Babb twice hit from long range in a 2-16 run to move ahead 42-48. The flow of the game slowed as much of the scoring for both teams came from the foul line. Wilbekin and Nunnally both made a pair of free throws to get Maccabi within 50-52. Rubit answered with a personal 0-6 spurt and it was 54-58 after 30 minutes. Bayern was not able to produce much offense in the fourth quarter with just 5 points in the first 4 minutes, but Maccabi failed to score at all and trailed 54-63. Wilbekin finally got the hosts on the board again with a three-pointer and Bayern coach Andrea Trinchieri immediately responded with a timeout. Wilbekin would not let his team lose with another three-pointer and then a three-point play to knot the game 65-65 with 3 minutes left. After Hunter missed free throws, Wilbekin kept going with a layup high off the glass for a Maccabi lead. Walden silenced the boisterous crowd with a big three-pointer to put Bayern back up 67-68. Wilbekin punched back with 2 free throws with 29 seconds remaining as Maccabi reclaimed the lead. Bayern missed two final attempts in the waning seconds as Maccabi sent its faithful home happy.

Pivotal performer

Scottie Wilbekin willed his team to victory as he tied his career-high of 28 points while also collecting 3 assists and 3 steals for an index rating of 32 - just one of his career-best. All told, he scored 13 points in the fourth quarter.

Finally another Maccabi win

Maccabi came into the game leading the all-time series with Bayern 5-3, but the Israeli powerhouse had lost the last three matchups. Maccabi’s last victory over Bayern had come on December 5, 2019.

Nice seeing you again

The game featured several players facing their former team. Maccabi’s Derrick Williams and Jalen Reynolds both played recently with Bayern - with Reynolds doing so last season. Bayern big man Othello Hunter spent the last two seasons in Maccabi and DeShaun Thomas played for Maccabi in 2017-18. And Maccabi's recent signing, center Mathias Lessort, who did not play, lined up for the German club in 2019-20.

Telling numbers

Maccabi committed only 9 turnovers in the game and scored 22 points off turnovers to just 12 from Bayern.

What's next?

Maccabi will stay at home for its next game when it hosts Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade on Thursday, October 7. Bayern will play its EuroLeague home opener the same evening when it welcomes FC Barcelona to southern Germany.

Scottie Wilbekin - Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv - EB21
Thursday, September 30, 2021
Euroleague.net
Referees: LAMONICA, LUIGI; JIMENEZ, BENJAMIN; KARDUM, LUKA
Attendance: 10090
By Quarter1234
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv25151415
FC Bayern Munich18142610
End of Quarter1234
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv25405469
FC Bayern Munich18325868
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 WILBEKIN, SCOTTIE 29:20 28 4/7 4/6 8/8       3 3 1     2 6 32
2 EVANS, KEENAN 15:30 5 2/3 0/2 1/1   4 4 1         2 2 7
4 CALOIARO, ANGELO 26:44 2 1/3     1 3 4 1   1     2   2
6 WILLIAMS, DERRICK 19:43 6 3/8     2 3 5     1 1   4   2
7 TAYLOR, KAMERON 3:35 2 1/1     1   1 1         2   2
8 REYNOLDS, JALEN 26:04 6 3/6 0/1   3 3 6 1 1 3     3   4
9 SORKIN, ROMAN 13:56 3 1/2 0/2 1/2 1   1           2 1 -1
12 DIBARTOLOMEO, JOHN 22:09 8 1/1 2/5     1 1 1     1   1 1 8
14 BLAYZER, OZ 2:32                   1     1   -2
15 COHEN, JAKE DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
21 NUNNALLY, JAMES 29:25 7 1/3 1/6 2/2   2 2 2 2 2     2 6 8
99 ZIV, IFTAH 11:02 2 1/4   0/1   2 2 1       1 2 1 -1
Team           1 2 3               3
Totals 200:00 69 18/38 7/22 12/14 9 20 29 11 6 9 2 1 23 17 64
        47.4% 31.8% 85.7%
Head coach: SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS
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
FC Bayern Munich
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 WEILER-BABB, NICK 25:59 6 0/1 2/4   2 3 5 2 2 2     2 1 9
1 THOMAS, DESHAUN 30:34 15 6/8 0/2 3/4   7 7 1   1   1 1 2 17
2 WALDEN, COREY 30:09 14 2/5 2/3 4/4   4 4 2   1     3 6 18
8 HUNTER, OTHELLO 27:33 11 4/8   3/6 4 2 6     1   1   4 12
9 OBIESIE, JOSHUA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
10 JARAMAZ, OGNJEN 23:00 2 1/2 0/3     4 4 2 1 1 1   2 2 5
12 GEORGE, JASON 2:55         1   1               1
21 RUBIT, AUGUSTINE 20:09 10 2/4 0/1 6/6   3 3 1 1       3 5 14
26 OGUNSIPE, MARVIN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
31 SISKO, ZAN MARK 18:06 5 1/1 1/2     1 1 1   2     3   1
32 HILLIARD, DARRUN 21:35 5 1/2 1/4     3 3 6 1 4     3 3 7
Team           1   1     3         -2
Totals 200:00 68 17/31 6/19 16/20 8 27 35 15 5 15 1 2 17 23 82
        54.8% 31.6% 80%
Head coach: TRINCHIERI, ANDREA

Head Coaches

SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
"I want to congratulate our players for the win. It's not always easy to win the opening game because the home team is always under pressure to start the season well. As you saw, we had a lot of ups and downs during the game. We started the game with a lot of enthusiasm. We finished the first quarter with a good enough difference and we played 5 minutes of excellent basketball in the second quarter - defensively and offensively. They didn’t score and we scored in a lot of different ways - open court, open shots - and we very easily opened a double-digit lead. But that was not the real picture of the game because Bayern have the quality, no matter which players they are missing. And they showed that in the last 5 minutes of the second quarter. But mainly in the third quarter, we were very bad on offense. We had moments where we didn’t play well together and we gave up easy points in transition. That’s why Bayern scored 26 points. It continued like that in the fourth quarter and we took a timeout with 7 minutes left. That’s where we changed the game because of the defense we played. They only scored 10 points. It’s not very easy to go from 26 points in the third quarter and allow only 10 in the fourth. That was the reason that we had the chance to come back - with the support of the whole team, but mainly with the baskets from Scottie. He showed once again that he is the leader of this team. For sure we have players who can score on a good day and I expect we will play much better and more consistently. It’s just the beginning. We need to improve. We are a new team with a lot of new players who are playing for the first time in the EuroLeague. I think they did a good job for the first game. I’m very happy with how the fans came and supported us. A full gym after so long in the EuroLeague - it was a great feeling. And you saw in the last moments of the game with their voices how they helped the team to give more effort to get the win."
TRINCHIERI, ANDREA
FC Bayern Munich
"I have to say this was an amazing game. After two tough years, feeling a crowd like this is really a big thing. I had goosebumps. Maccabi had a great push in the first half. We go home without the win. We shot the ball better, we grabbed more rebounds, we dished more assists, we had 18 points higher PIR and we lost the game. One big performance by Scottie Wilbekin. There are lots of things we could do better, but we are learning to play in these games because our preparation was very difficult. We were missing six or seven players. But we played with great personality. That is the only way you can play in this arena, against Maccabi, against their fans. I believe we could have won, but Maccabi won. I don’t feel beaten. My players do not feel beaten. Congratulations to Maccabi, to Ioannis [Sfairopoulos], to the crowd, because they were also a factor. And of course to Scottie. We will try to do better. I go home with a bag full of confidence in my players. We played a man’s game. We adapted the game plan during the game because something didn’t work. And we really played to win. When you come here in front of 12,000 people with many big players out and you play to win, this loss has a different taste."

Players

WILBEKIN, SCOTTIE
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
"It feels great. I really didn’t want to lose the first game - with all the fans being here and the great start we had, probably because of the fans. I’m just happy we were able to pull through and get the win."
NUNNALLY, JAMES
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
"Every win is important, every game is important. We want to win them all. Just getting a good start in the EuroLeague, 1-0 at home, it definitely feels good. The defense got us the win. We just locked up in the end. On offense, Scottie was going, but that was about it. Nothing else was going, we couldn’t find our shots or hit them. But we locked in and started playing better defense, communicating more and that’s what got us the win."
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