MADRID - At the end of Maccabi Tel Aviv's 92-85 victory over Montepaschi Siena in their Euroleague semifinal Friday night, David Federman, one of Maccabi's owners, went up to Derrick Sharp and told him, "We'll sign you right now for another two years." Sharp was not fazed and replied, "I want to finish those two years and sign for another four years." Federman answered, "Fine, whatever you want."
The players actually appeared stunned at the end of the game. Coach Zvika Sherf gathered them together on the court in front of 3,000 enthusiastic fans, who had become sleepy when Maccabi fell behind in the first half. "We have one more to go, let's do it. Keep believing in yourself," said Sherf.
Advertisement
Maccabi opened the semifinal game lethargic, missing shots while Siena appeared full of confidence behind point guard Terrell McIntyre. A stunned Tel Aviv squad finished the first quarter with just eight points as opposed to Siena's 20.
Sherf began to make substitutions like crazy to try and slow down Siena's full head of steam and in what looked like a desperate act put in Lior Eliyahu, who had sat on the bench for most of the season. Eliyahu surprisingly became a central factor in Maccabi's offense. Siena's lead grew to 18 points and the game appeared to be lost.
Sherf was not able to execute any of his game plan, as he had designated McIntyre to be neutralized. Siena continued to abuse Maccabi, which was lucky to go into halftime down by just 12 points (45-33).
In the locker room during the break the players sat with their heads slumped down. "Nothing's over," said Sherf. "You have to improve the defense, pick your heads up, play defense; we have not lost the game and we can do it."
In the second half, Sherf put in Alex Garcia, who answered the call by having an amazing game (19 points), and Sharp, and the move was the main factor in Maccabi's turnaround. Sharp, who averaged 12 minutes and four points in Euroleague games this season, fought for every ball, hit three-pointers and made his and Maccabi's comeback.
On the other side, Italian coach Pianigiani, who controlled the first half with his defense plan, steals and three-pointers, did not respond to the changes on the court and even took McIntyre and Ksistof Lavrinovic out of the game at certain points. Siena, which attempted 45 three-pointers during the game, continued to shoot from beyond the arc, but in the second half the shots were not falling, which allowed Maccabi to get back into the game. The third quarter ended with Siena hanging on to a 64-61 advantage.
Siena had lost its intensity and focus and was now putting up three-point shots under pressure. Seven minutes from the end of the fourth period, Will Bynum's three-pointer gave Maccabi its first lead of the game (67-64). The game continued to be close until the last few minutes. At 1:30 remaining, Garcia grabbed a rebound and gave Maccabi an 85-78 lead and foul shots by him and Sharp sealed the deal.
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
