Hapoel Tel Aviv welcomes Bayern Munich on Thursday (21:05) to Yad Eliyahu while Maccabi Tel Aviv visits Valencia also on Thursday (21:45) as both Israeli teams will be in Euroleague action on Gameday 25.

The Reds are coming off a devastating defeat to Partizan Belgrade as they blew a 27-point lead in the third quarter of a 104-101 overtime win by the Serbian squad. However, despite the loss, Hapoel are still in first place with a 16-7 record as they will try to get back onto the winning track when they host the German side who are 9-15 good for 15th in the standings.

Svetislav Pesic took over the reins a couple of months ago, just days before they played Hapoel the first time, while he has steadied the ship, Bayern are 4-2 since he has been able to install his system but they are still 1-10 on the road.

Head Coach Dimitrios Itoudis spoke about what he expects to see from his opponent, “First of all, the conception and the strategy he has defensively, you can identify that. In their first game it was not enough for coach Pesic to try to integrate the details. But now you can see some details on their defensive end. They have proven that they are a team that can play at a high pace, watch the last game against Valencia, or at a low pace, the last game against Partizan. They have a bunch of very experienced players and sized ones.”

Hapoel had a number of days to prepare for this game as the schedule this past week was not as busy as it gas been which allowed Itoudis to work on some of the issues that have plagued the team including closing games out.

“We did analyze the second halves and the low clock situations. We spent a big amount of time to work on it. Having the time this week helped us prepare. We have our issues, everybody has issues, but it helps to prepare, watch mistakes, correct mistakes, add some more things and the most important thing is for players to rest their body and their mind so they can go full speed.”

The captain Bar Timor also touched on the fact that the team had some time the week to work on some of their game play, “Our preparations are good. Whether the schedule allows more or less time, we always come as prepared as possible. Last week we also had a double week with Zalgiris, so in terms of preparation we’re fine and we’re coming to win. There were games where we weren’t at our best. In a long season with many games, it sometimes happens, that’s part of reality. We need to learn, understand what we need to work on, fix it and get back to the things we did throughout the season much, much better.”

It looks like the Reds will not have Elijah Bryant at their disposal as the bench boss said he’s not 100% and that he still feels pain, but they will monitor the situation. With that in mind, Itoudis shared what he thinks will be the keys to the game and what might lead his team to victory.

“There is not only one key. It’s a Euroleague game and sometimes also less is more. So we need to be united and we need to get into the game like we need each other and we support each other.”

Over at Maccabi Tel Aviv, the yellow-and-blue are going to try and stay in the hunt for a Play In spot when they travel to Valencia and as they enter the clash with a 10-14 record good for 14th place while the hosts are 15-9 in 7th place. The last time the two squads squared off was in Jerusalem as Oded Katash’s team slipped by Pedro Martinez’s club 85-82 in what was a heated game as the fans let the Spanish bench boss know his comments about Israel were not flattering to say the least.

With that, Valencia will be the first Spanish team to allow fans into a game with an Israeli team this season as season ticket holders will be permitted in to their brand new arena.

“We know it’s a tough game away,” center Marcio Santos said. “It’s been a pretty tough schedule against some great teams. We know Valencia are playing a high tempo and a lot of defense, so we need to go and meet their energy, meet their flow and bring our best.”

Will Rayman who just signed a 3-year contract extension shared his thoughts on the upcoming game, “They were in first for a good part of the year, so this is a really important game for us to win and try to beat them 2-0 on the year.”

Maccabi Head Coach Oded Katash spoke about what his team will need to do in order to come away with a win, “They play at a very high pace and getting back on defense is critical against them. This is truly a team that might be the best-coached and the most fluid in the EuroLeague, with three or four dominant scorers, but ones who thrive on a lot of movement.

“There are a few specific things, they don’t vary much, but the few specific actions they run, they run extremely well, along with a very impressive defensive approach. It’s a very different team and you have to be extremely prepared for them. I hope we managed to get the message across in the short time we had.”

Katash also talked about the importance of locking up Rayman for the upcoming few seasons with the club, “I want to congratulate Will on his contract extension and in this case, even more so, congratulate us, Maccabi Tel Aviv. I think it’s a great privilege for all of us that he plays here. He’s our glue guy and in many cases he’s our heart. He’s always there and it’s a great source of pride. These are things he brought from day one, but over time he’s also developed into a better basketball player and in my opinion, he still has a lot of room to improve.”

“I’m really happy to sign an extension and be here for another three years” Rayman said. “I love everything about this organization and I’m happy to keep going, keep winning games. It starts Thursday at Valencia. It’s something I always thought about from my first year playing. It’s a great honor and I just want to keep improving and keep helping us win. I think we have probably the best Israeli core in the league and we’re just going to keep on getting better. I’m excited about our future.”