Let the games begin! The regular season has finally come to an end and Maccabi Tel Aviv can take a deep breath as they finished off a grueling, unforgiving and challenging Euroleague campaign that saw them against all odds punch their ticket to the postseason.

The Yellow & Blue put the final touches on what was a 28 game in the standings but in reality a 32 game that should have been 34 game season with a 85-76 win over a Fenerbahce team that was without a number of their top players including Jan Vesely and Nando De Colo.

It was not an easy contest with both teams having very little to play for with Avi Even’s squad already in the playoffs while the Turkish team had already been eliminated and are focusing on their domestic league as their bench boss Sasa Djordjevic explained.

With the victory, Maccabi can now take a deep breath as they determined that Real Madrid will be their quarterfinal foe in a classic best of five series against one of Europe’s giants who have been playing well under their normal standards of late. A loss would have pitted the Yellow & Blue against Milano, another one of the continent’s lions who have been having personnel issues with COVID and injuries.

While many felt that Maccabi would lose on purpose to play Milano just as Anadolu did last week against Belgrade, losing is word that is not in the Yellow & Blue lexicon interim head coach Avi Even explained.

“I’ve been with the team for 16 years as an assistant and scout. There’s not many places like this with a winning attitude and I’m proud to be a part of this club. I’m happy to win and no one even thought about losing. We wanted to win and that is what we believe in.”

Another player who has been under the magnifying glass all season long and one who is a proven winner having taken home a Euroleague championship with Fenerbahce back in 2017 is the embattled James Nunnally.

The 31-year old swingman has had plenty of ups and downs this season which in essence reflects the club’s campaign as a whole.

However, under Avi Even things have come together for the UC Santa Barbara product and the real Nunnally, the one who collected the Italian League MVP, the 2x Turkish league champ and the Euroleague title holder has stepped to the forefront by looking like the star player Maccabi had thought they were signing in the summer.

But after just under two minutes into the game, Nunnally fell down in a heap and had to be helped off the floor by teammates. His fall looked harmless but in sports you never quite know what damage may have been done as he made his way downstairs to the lockerroom.

No none would have batted an eye had Maccabi decided to shut him down for the rest of the game and not risk any further damage. But no. Nunnally made his way back up to the bench and then onto the court where he put on a stellar display with 19 points and 7 rebounds in an MVP performance.

“James is a winner,” Even began when asked to comment by The Sports Rabbi. “He’s a competitor and he wants to win every game. When he went down I figured I would have to find another player. He wanted to come back and he was exceptional on both sides of the floor and made a few important plays. I’m happy that he was able to and it’s not easy to come back to play. This game wasn’t life or death, but I like a player who wants to go out and play.”

Angelo Caloiaro who has been around Maccabi for four years now also knows that Nunnally can be a key contributor while also referencing the fact that they are both from the same area of the United States.

“James is a heck of player and power to him. Obviously we have had ups and downs and he has been great recently. Plus he’s a high IQ guy because he is from the Bay Area. I heard there are a lot of smart guys from there!”

Nunnally himself also spoke about heading to the postseason, “We worked hard to get into this position and we knew we wanted to finish the season out strong. These are games that tune us for the playoffs and everything, every quarter is going to help us get better. Playing more together, just learning where to be. We have a new system, so it will take time, but we’re learning and building, step by step.”

After Maccabi’s Israeli league game on Friday afternoon against Bnei Herzliya it will be full speed ahead towards the playoffs. Games 1 and 2 take place in Madrid next Wednesday and Friday nights respectively which will be followed up with gams 3 and 4 if necessary back in Israel while game five would take place in Spain on Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day.

“We still have another journey to go on,” Even commented. “There is no question that Real was in better shape at the start of the season but this is Real and when we play them it’s something different altogether. It’s a series and not one game. We know we can beat them at home and we almost beat them on the road.”

Veteran forward Angelo Caloiaro also looked ahead to a tough series with Madrid, “They are a historic club and we are a historic club and both teams have had a lot of success in Europe. They are very good and we are very good so we are looking forward to it. People have been talking about Real struggling, but they are top four in the Euroleague and in second in the Spanish ACB League. It will be tough but we are ready for the challenge.”

Derrick Williams, who joined the yellow-and-blue at the start of the campaign will be making his first foray into the postseason since arriving in Europe from the NBA four years ago and is excited to get rolling after a challenging regular season.

“I’m happy that we won and going into the next round, where we will play Real Madrid. It’s a big step for the club and we have now checked off one of our goals which was to get to the playoffs. As for the series, it’s two historical clubs that are going to battle once again. They know what’s at stake and we know what’s at stake. We have been working for a long time to get to this point and I think we are ready for the challenge. We are 1-1 against Real and it doesn’t get any better than this.”

The #2 selection in the 2011 NBA Draft also knows how important will it be to get off to a good start, “I don’t like to say must win, that’s game five or game seven. We want to start the series well with confidence and togetherness and with patience as well. When you win game one the percentages are better and that’s the way we want to start.”

Even understands that one of Maccabi’s strong points is the fan support which can swing a game towards the Yellow & Blue, “When I was an assistant under Pini Gershon along with Sharon Drucker we played our quarterfinal series in Belgrade and it was crazy. We have two flights going to Madrid and the fans will go with us wherever we are. The crowd did a great job and pushed us and whoever comes with us to Madrid will be a part of this journey. We will need their support.”