2017-18Regular SeasonRound 15
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv 78
Unicaja Malaga 89
December 28, 2017 CET: 20:05
Local time: 21:05 MENORA MIVTACHIM ARENA

Shermadini powers Unicaja past Maccabi for fourth straight win

Unicaja Malaga raced to its fourth straight victory with a 78-89 comeback triumph over Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv. The home team was ahead by double digits in the second quarter, but Unicaja’s defense took over in the second half, restricting Maccabi to just 31 points after the break in a game of multiple lead changes which concluded with the visitors pulling away in the final stages. Unicaja improved to 7-8 at the midway point of the regular season, hot on the heels of Maccabi at 8-7. Nemanja Nedovic led all scorers with 20 points including 4-of-7 three-point shooting and big man Giorgi Shermadini played a key role with 15 points and 9 rebounds. Jeff Brooks added 18 points and 7 boards, and Ray McCallum netted 15. Norris Cole paced Maccabi with 16 points, Art Parakhouski scored 15 and Pierre Jackson added 14, while Jonah Bolden combined 8 points, 10 rebounds and 5 steals.

Nedovic opened the scoring from long-range, but Maccabi answered with baskets from Parakhouski, DeAndre Kane and Bolden, before McCallum’s triple tied it up. Michael Roll sank Maccabi’s first triple and Jackson converted a reverse layup, but Brooks responded with 5 points in a hurry to tie it again midway through the first. Cole drove for a pair of nice finishes, but Shermadini netted a layup for another tie. Cole hit a triple before Shermadini and Alex Tyus scored from close range, making it 22-19 after the first. Jake Cohen opened the second with a triple, Karam Mashour added a tip-in and John DiBartolomeo hit a threee for a 30-19 lead. Tyus scored a fastbreak layup to complete a 12-0 run, before Alberto Diaz scored Unicaja’s first points of the second quarter with a triple. Cole went coast to coast and scored a reverse layup, but Adam Waczynski and Brooks hit triples to make it 38-28. James Augustine pulled back the deficit to single figures from close range, Jackson and Nedovic exchanged triples. McCallum connected with a smooth fadeaway and Kane scored a fastbreak slam for a 47-39 lead at halftime.

Nedovic scored 4 in a hurry as Unicaja started the second half strong, and before long he scored a triple to make it a 2-point game. Brooks grabbed an offensive board to tie the game at 54-54 midway through the third quarter, but Bolden sent Maccabi ahead again with a corner three. A big triple from Diaz kept it close, and Unicaja took its first lead in a long time with a close-range finish from Shermadini, who scored again with a layup on the buzzer to finish the third quarter at 58-61. Waczynski floated in a tough shot to start the fourth, but Jackson struck back-to-back triples to send the home team ahead. Shermadini restored Unicaja’s lead with a layup and one, before Jackson swung it back with another long-range bomb. The lead continued to swap hands as Nedovic, Mashour and McCallum all netted layups and Shermadini continued his dominance by converting free throws for a 71-74 lead midway through the final quarter. Parakhouski got Maccabi closer, but Carlos Suarez hit a triple and Nedovic made free throws to make it 73-79. Parakhouski narrowed the gap again, but McCallum scored from downtown and then added a spectacular layup to secure the win.

Nemanja Nedovic - Unicaja Malaga - EB17
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Euroleague.net
Referees: CHRISTODOULOU, CHRISTOS; JOVCIC, MILIVOJE; SUKYS, ARTURAS
Attendance: 11060
By Quarter1234
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv22251120
Unicaja Malaga19202228
End of Quarter1234
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv22475878
Unicaja Malaga19396189
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 MASHOUR, KARAM 12:34 4 2/6     2 4 6         2 3   1
5 ROLL, MICHAEL 21:29 5 0/2 1/4 2/2       2   1     1 1 1
7 KANE, DEANDRE 16:56 4 2/2   0/2           1 1     1 3
9 TYUS, ALEX 16:08 6 3/5   0/3 3 2 5   1     1 2 2 6
12 DIBARTOLOMEO, JOHN 14:15 3 0/2 1/3     1 1 4 3       2   5
15 COHEN, JAKE 9:42 3 0/1 1/1     1 1 2             5
18 SEGEV, ITAY 4:14         1   1 2 1       1   3
30 COLE, NORRIS 23:56 16 4/8 1/3 5/6   1 1 4   1     4 3 12
43 BOLDEN, JONAH 30:18 8 2/3 1/5 1/2 2 8 10 1 5   1   2 1 18
45 PARAKHOUSKI, ARTSIOM 19:38 15 6/9   3/4 3 4 7   1 2     2 2 17
50 ZOOSMAN, YOVEL DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
55 JACKSON, PIERRE 30:50 14 1/6 4/10 0/1   2 2 5 2 2   2 2 4 9
Team           3 1 4     1         3
Totals 200:00 78 20/44 9/26 11/20 14 24 38 20 13 8 2 5 19 14 83
        45.5% 34.6% 55%
Head coach: SPAHIJA, NEVEN
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
Unicaja Malaga
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
2 OKOUO, VINY DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
3 MCCALLUM, RAY 29:06 15 3/8 2/2 3/7 1 3 4 6   2   1 3 3 13
6 SOLUADE, MO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 DIAZ, ALBERTO 12:24 6   2/4     3 3 2         4   5
10 SALIN, SASU 11:52   0/1 0/2         2   1       2  
11 DIEZ, DANIEL 12:48 2 1/3 0/1   1 3 4     1     1   1
16 NEDOVIC, NEMANJA 28:08 20 2/8 4/7 4/4   3 3 6   3     1 3 19
17 SHERMADINI, GIORGI 15:10 15 5/6   5/5 3 6 9     3 2     4 26
21 WACZYNSKI, ADAM 25:42 5 1/3 1/4   1 2 3           1 2 4
23 BROOKS, JEFF 23:29 18 6/8 2/2 0/2 4 3 7 1   2 1 1   2 22
40 AUGUSTINE, JAMES 24:50 4 2/7     2 4 6 1     1   3   4
43 SUAREZ, CARLOS 16:31 4   1/3 1/2   2 2     2 1   1 3 4
Team           4 2 6               6
Totals 200:00 89 20/44 12/25 13/20 16 31 47 18 0 14 5 2 14 19 104
        45.5% 48% 65%
Head coach: PLAZA, JOAN

Head Coaches

SPAHIJA, NEVEN
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
“Congratulations to Malaga for the win. They were a better team, more focussed and with a clear idea what they wanted to do. Before the game we said they’re a very good three-point shooting team and outstanding defensive rebounding. Our preparation for the game didn’t work at all. They had 16 offensive rebounds and we couldn’t make shots, especially in the third quarter, which was tough to watch. The starting players who did an amazing job six days ago all ended up with minus today, the second unit did a pretty good job, but it’s not realistic to expect them to play all the time and win the game. We need our starters and our best players, and today they didn’t show up. It happens, I can’t blame them, I have to analyse the game. This is a long season, so many games, and we have to still think positive and try to be more consistent. You’ve heard me talk so many times about mental toughness, discipline, and that looks like our biggest problem right now. You have to be tough from the beginning in every game. Even with all our talent, after big games we don’t perform at the same level. But if someone told us that after the first half of the EuroLeague season we’d have more wins than losses, we’d be happy.”
PLAZA, JOAN
Unicaja Malaga
“Absolutely happy for the win. Nobody needs to tell me it’s a really tough court to win. We know we needed to improve our defense in the second half because they were scoring amazing in the first half. We need to keep learning, it’s our fourth victory in a row, but we want to keep fighting and giving the best of ourselves until the end of the season. We need to play every game like there’s nothing else. If we die in February, we die in February, but we can’t limit our effort in each game. We are beginning to enjoy playing together and guarantee giving great effort.”

Players

JACKSON, PIERRE
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
“We had some slip ups that we can’t have as a team. They had some huge shots near the end and had a great third quarter. There’s lots we’ve got to work on. The coaches get us ready for the game and it’s our job to execute what they draw up for us, just play basketball.”
COLE, NORRIS
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
“They outplayed us today. We gave up offensive rebounds and got off to a slow start in the third quarter, and that was basically the game. We didn’t play well and once they got momentum it was hard for us to come back.”
MCCALLUM, RAY
Unicaja Malaga
“We came out ready to compete and play. It was a tough game all the way through, we were down 8 at halftime, but came out in the first five minutes with energy and competed. Then the guys who came off the bench played extremely well, closed the third quarter and got us the lead. We were able to stay in the game until the fourth quarter and stay with it; that was the game-plan. Our defense is really good down the stretch and we did a solid job. We played together, made some big shots and got a big win.”
NEDOVIC, NEMANJA
Unicaja Malaga
“Big win for us. Every win on the road has big value. We used the same way we did against Barcelona and Efes – stay in the game until the fourth quarter and then break the game because we know we have the quality. It’s four wins in a row and we can’t stop now because we want to keep rolling.”
SHERMADINI, GIORGI
Unicaja Malaga
“It’s an amazing feeling, I’m feeling very good right now. Congratulations to my teammates and my coach, it was a great game. We knew it would be tough to play against Maccabi in Tel Aviv, it’s one of the toughest gyms in Europe. But we have one more EuroLeague win.”
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