2005-06Regular SeasonRound 3
November 17, 2005 CET: 20:45
Local time: 20:45 NOKIA ARENA
Maccabi suffered until halftime, but rallied to avoid a rare second consecutive loss when it topped Cibona 83-74 at home in Tel Aviv on Thursday. Maccabi trailed 26-41 late in the first half but still managed to escape and improve its Group B record to 2-1. Cibona dropped to 1-2 despite leading much of the game. Will Solomon and Jamie Arnold led the winners with 20 points apiece. Arnold shined when it was required, as Yaniv Green was sidelined for this game and center Maceo Baston played just 6 minutes due to an injury. Anthony Parker had 17 points and 8 rebounds while Derrick Sharp had 13 for Maccabi, including a pair of big three-pointers during a decisive 12-0 run in the fourth quarter. Scoonie Penn led Cibona with 25 points, Damir Markota added 13 on 3 of 3 three-pointers, Bennett Davison posted a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds while Davor Kus also had 10 points for the guests.

Cibona came out strong on both ends of the court, ripping off a 0-9 run to start the game as Bennett Davison, Scoonie Penn and Mate Skelin strung together layups that Davor Marcelic punctuated with a three-pointer. Maccabi, meanwhile, missed its first 8 shots before Jamie Arnold, starting in place of the injured Maceo Baston, put in the hosts' first basket almost 5 minutes into the action. Arnold remained the hot hand, scoring on each of the next two possessions, as Maccabi got back into the game. By the time Vujcic and Will Solomon joined him, Maccabi was within 11-13. But Cibona didn't falter, and with Davison playing big inside, the guests managed to remain ahead 13-17 after 10 minutes while keeping Maccabi to a season-low amount of points for a quarter.

Maccabi didn't look any better starting the second quarter, as Parker missed a dunk and a wide-open three-pointer. Cibona couldn't take advantage, however, as Penn missed a layup. Parker then buried his next triple to bring Maccabi within 16-17, but Cibona was just getting started. Davor Kus and Damir Markota both answered from downtown as Cibona rebuilt its lead to 19-25. At the midway point of the period – after another Markota triple – Cibona led 21-31. The lead continued to grow, with Davison swatting a Vujcic shot in the paint and Kus finishing an uncontested layup at the other end. Penn then took over with his own triple and a penetration move to silence Maccabi's crowd with a 24-37 scoreboard. Maccabi's shots continued to bounce out, and reserve Sharon Shason committed a quick pair of fouls whose free throws Markota used to make it 26-41. A Parker slam brought the crowd back into it, late, but Cibona still held an 11-point advantage, 32-43, at halftime.

Maccabi looked better starting the second half, scoring on the first three possessions, and seeing Baston climb off the bench for the first time all night. After Arnold rattled in a three-pointer to cut the difference to 41-45, Cibona seemed a bit rattled. Penn lost the ball to Solomon and Davison was whistled for a unsportsmanlike foul as he stopped the break. Those free throws were followed by a big Baston block on Penn and Burstein's first bucket of the night, tying it 45-45 after 24 minutes. Penn kept his team in it with a three-pointer, but a pair of turnovers hurt the visitors. Maccabi seized its first lead all night at 49-48 on a Parker bank shot. Markota drove the lane and then buried a three-pointer to regain Cibona's momentum and prove to Maccabi that his team was ready for a fight. A few free throws later, Cibona ended the third quarter with a 53-56 lead.

Strong Cibona defense and Penn's leadership and shooting pushed Maccabi to the wall. But Cibona paid a price for aggressiveness, soon committing enough fouls to put Maccabi in the penalty after just 3 minutes. Parker converted a three-point play, and Solomon took advantage of Marcelic's turnover to drive and tie 62-62. After Kus missed a three-pointer, Derrick Sharp made one, and Maccabi began to pull away. Cibona still battled for every ball, but Maccabi refused to let Penn shoot and his teammates had trouble finding the hole with the game on the line. Sharp drilled another triple and Maccabi had its biggest lead, 69-62, with 4:30 to go. After a timeout, Penn found room to shoot and nailed a clutch shot from deep, but Solomon answered seconds later. Damir Rancic came up with his first points of the night, also from downtown, but after a Parker free throw, Kus turned the ball over and Solomon came up with another huge jumper to stretch the Maccabi lead to 8 points. Cibona started to foul and it nearly worked as Vujcic missed a pair of free throws, but Burstein and Solomon didn't and Maccabi held on for an 83-74 win.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Eran Sela, Tel Aviv
No results found.
Referees: SPIRIDONOS, LEONIDAS; LOVSIN, ANDREJ; CICORIA, GIANPAOLO; RAMOT, IZTOK
Attendance: 0
By Quarter1234
Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv13192130
Cibona VIP17261318
End of Quarter1234
Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv13325383
Cibona VIP17435674
Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 BASTON, MACEO 5:45   0/2       2 2     1 1   1 1  
6 SHARP, DERRICK 18:45 13 1/1 3/5 2/3   1 1           2 2 11
7 VUJCIC, NIKOLA 34:45 7 2/7   3/6   5 5 4     2 1 3 5 11
8 PARKER, ANTHONY 35:00 17 6/12 1/1 2/3 1 7 8 4 3 3     5 4 21
10 BURSTEIN, TAL 23:30 4 1/3   2/2 1 1 2 5 1 2     4 1 5
11 SHASON, SHARON 12:30 2 1/1 0/2     2 2       1   3    
12 DOTAN, ASSAF DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
14 CASSPI, OMRI DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
15 SOLOMON, WILLIE 36:00 20 4/9 2/6 6/8   5 5 3 1 2   2 2 6 18
20 PENNEY, KIRK 4:30   0/1       2 2               1
23 ARNOLD, JAMIE 29:15 20 6/13 1/2 5/5 3 4 7 1 1 1   1 2 3 20
41 GREEN, YANIV DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team           1 2 3   7           10
Totals 200:00 83 21/49 7/16 20/27 6 31 37 17 13 9 4 4 22 22 97
        42.9% 43.8% 74.1%
Head coach: GERSHON, PINI
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
Cibona VIP
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 PENN, SCOONIE 38:00 25 8/16 2/7 3/4   4 4 3 2 2   1 2 6 21
5 KUS, DAVOR 31:15 10 1/4 1/5 5/8   2 2 4 1 2   1 2 7 9
6 SKELIN, MATE 12:45 6 3/5   0/1   3 3 2       2 4 1 3
7 DAVISON, BENETT 30:00 10 5/6 0/1   3 7 10   1 2 1   4 1 15
9 RANCIC, DAMIR 19:45 3   1/2     2 2           3 2 3
11 MARCELIC, DAVOR 28:45 5 1/2 1/6     6 6 1   3 1   2 2 4
12 ANDRIC, LUKSA 7:00 2     2/2   1 1     1 1   2 2 3
14 TREPALOVAC, ALEN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
20 ROZIC, MARIN 9:45   0/3       2 2 1         2   -2
21 GRBESIC, DAVID DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
33 UGRINOSKI, ALEKSANDAR DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
52 MARKOTA, DAMIR 22:45 13 1/3 3/3 2/2 3 3 6 1 1 3 1   1 1 17
Team           1 2 3   4           7
Totals 200:00 74 19/39 8/24 12/17 7 32 39 12 9 13 4 4 22 22 80
        48.7% 33.3% 70.6%
Head coach: ANZULOVIC, DRAZEN
This game has no play by play yet

Head Coaches

GERSHON, PINI
Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv
"As I said earlier there are no easy games in the Euroleague. If it was so easy we could have skipped some practices but it doesn't work this way. They came here and forced us to some errors. They came with no pressure like all other teams that play against us. Still, we won the second half by twenty points. We have some problems and I basically mean we are not playing fluently yet. Sometimes we think things will come too easy for us. It is true we could turn up games in 5 or 6 minutes but I don't want to make it a habit. I am satisfied with our bench players effort and contribution tonight."
ANZULOVIC, DRAZEN
Cibona VIP
"It was the best game of Cibona this season so far but unfortunately we lost it. We put everything we had during the first two quarters so some of my players were too tired towards the end. I am talking mostly about my guards. We controlled the tempo of the game at the first half but in the last qaurter we lost control mainly in defense. Still, the game was tight until a minute or two before the end."

Players

SHARP, DERRICK
Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv
"A tough game indeed. Everytime I bring from the bench this spark and some threes to the team play. Well, this is what I am here for. We need more time in order to play like a unit and know each other better."
SOLOMON, WILLIE
Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv
"We came in concentrated enough but in the first two quarters we just did not play Maccabi's regular basketball. We spoke about it during halftime and made some adjustments later on. Then we were able to play our style. I played in many places so far and I think the main thing is to get used to the way the team normally plays and not just to the players around you. I am new in this team and I have to learn everything from the beginning."
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