Somehow sleep became a repeating motif among Maccabi Tel Aviv players and coaches this week. Coach Zvi Sherf started it off last weekend when he declared, "I haven't slept all night, thinking about Barcelona." Yesterday, Derrick Sharp said in practice he hoped Barcelona guard Jaka Lakovic "doesn't wake up suddenly" in the deciding game. Assistant coach Guy Goodes capped it off when he was asked if he was napping or diligently scouting in his free time. He shot back, "Sleep? What sleep?"
It seems all the references to sleep reflect each Maccabi member's intent to demonstrate nothing less than total dedication to winning tonight's game. In this vein, Sharp was joking around last night as practice drew to a close. The entire team including players, coaches and trainers joined in the center of the court and made a circle of hands as Sherf and team manager Mony Fanan gave the final briefing.
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After they finished all eyes were on the captain, expecting a few words of leadership. Sharp clapped his hands, slapped a few butts, and moments before the cry of "Maccabi" told his teammates, "Sleep tight, people!" Perhaps he knows there's nothing like getting a good night's rest to shake off the pressure of a game with the whole season on the line.
After practice, the coaches made it clear there'd be no surprises in team tactics. "The chances of pulling a rabbit out of the hat are slim," Sherf commented. "Each team will play to its strengths."
Barcelona coach Xavier Pascual expressed a similar tone, asserting "there's not much room for surprises." He added, "Both teams know each other well by now. We have good momentum. We could win or lose this game but we plan to win."
Tal Burstein said, "We must prevent their fast breaks." He noted the team "also practiced against their transition game." David Bluthenthal observed the transition game was "our weak point" in Game 1, and that "their players shoot well from three and less well from two-point range, so we have to force them to move to the basket."
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