Local connoisseurs warned: the meeting was judged by the “home” referee of Telavivians. Greek Pitsilkas has long been famous for his ability to pull Maccabi by the ears. Talking about refereeing boiled down to the fact that the difference in the class of teams is too great, because one person in gray will not be able to influence the outcome. In general, it happened. Yes, the referee found in the sweeping actions of compatriot (!) Papaloukas three runs only in the first half, yes, he whistled not an obvious foul to Smodis. But, perhaps, without the efforts of Pitsilkas, CSKA was doomed that day. On this day, the owners 'sneakers seemed to have turned into Hermes sandals, and someone hung pood weights on the guests' shoes ...
Derek Sharp stood in the mixed area of Nokia Arena and proudly made a dozen journalistic microphones about how to give all the best to 110 percent, approach the matter with heart, not despair and enjoy the crazy support of the public. These platitudes were what many thousands of fans were so eager to hear who lacked faith in miracles. Now, these thousands must have rushed to study the flight schedule, which will help to be in Moscow next Thursday. And at the same time the possibility of buying tickets at USK CSKA. Now, when the army team hovered on the verge of relegation from the playoffs, “Maccabi” found hope to be in the “Final Four”. And this is a significant difference in the position of the teams.
The Israelis beat the opponent with their own weapons, forcing one of the Tel Aviv colleagues to suggest: CSKA set an example, taught Maccabi how to play defense. “You want to say that I directed your basketball players over the phone?” Messina retorted. “Let me make a little joke, otherwise I’m in a mood to throw yourself in the water.”
Perhaps the Italian specialist has the right to be at a loss. Already in the Ben-Gurion waiting room, a DVD player stood on Ettore’s lap, playing a record of the match that had just been so pained. Familiar schemes did not work, reliable people failed. And nothing was done about it.
The main disappointment was undoubtedly Smodis. The February MVP of the Euroleague, a basketball player who was once too often compared to the NBA stars, did not look brilliant in several previous matches, but here he looked like a schoolboy against the background of Elyahu who was tearing and throwing. Only at the beginning of the third quarter CSKA heavy striker won the first (!) Rebound - on his shield, and the scorer printed out at all only at the beginning of the fourth. Andersen, trying to replace the Slovenian, did not act much better.
For a long time, the helplessness of the front line was compensated for by the dedication of Torres, who had 12 points, 7 rebounds and a couple of interceptions by the break. It is curious that it was the army's newcomers, Torres and Ponkrashov, who fought with the greatest desire that day. But after a pause, the hungry Maccabi, fueled by the genuine craziness that the yellow stands breathed, also ate the Venezuelan.
In the third period, the “three” of the magnificent Vuychich allowed the difference to pass for the “twenty”. For some time it was still possible to optimistically recall how CSKA won back the huge lag - as, for example, in Barcelona. This was clearly not the case. In Tel Aviv, the guests did not even get simple things. And those free long-range shots, which were so happy to rip the net in Moscow two days earlier, became a real scourge - the army team sold only 4 out of 24 three-pointer! And the cold-blooded wards of Spahia, who ran across rivals in the first half hour, shamelessly killed time for the last 10 minutes, stretching attacks to the maximum. They needed a result - and they got it.
... It was somehow strange to digest the phrase uttered by Messina at a press conference: "We fought all season to get the advantage of the home site. And we have no right not to use it." True, half a year of excellent work, CSKA can now be considered useless in one fell swoop. And from this it becomes hard on the heart.
Nikolai TSYNKEVICH, Tel Aviv