Maccabi Tel Aviv heads to Real Madrid to open up their Euroleague quarterfinal best of 5 series in Spain on Wednesday (22:00 Israel time) for the right to play in the competition’s Final Four in May. Game two will also be in Madrid and will be played on Friday night (21:45) with game three back in Israel next Tuesday and game four if necessary on Thursday night after the conclusion of Yom HaShoa, Holocaust Memorial Day. Game five would take place back in Spain the following Wednesday.

In what should be a thrilling series, Maccabi will attempt to continue their fine play of late at Real where they played the hosts to a tight encounter earlier in the season but came up short 72-70 while just last month the yellow-and-blue took a 75-74 win at Yad Eliyahu.

There is now question that the two teams will match up and go neck and neck but Real coach received some bad news on Tuesday that one of their star players in Argentinean Gabriel Deck will be out for at least the near future after contracting COVID-19.

However, Madrid still remains a very formidable foe and any player on the roster can cause headaches for Maccabi’s interim coach Avi Even and his squad, “We have to be ready because they have players that can win the game at any moment. They are professionals that have played in the playoffs before and we have to be prepared for every single one of them.”

“We are facing a very tough team with a big amazing tradition and players who were in the final stages of the competition,” Even continued. “On the other hand, our club has an enormous tradition as well and we have proven throughout the years that we are here and we are ready for every game and every battle on the floor. This is our approach for this game.”

Laso’s team have had their issues of late with a number of Euroleague and ACB Spanish league losses plus the on the team, off the team and back on the team situation for Thomas Heurtel and Trey Thompkins. However, regardless of their problems they are still Real Madrid and hold home court advantage in the best of 5 series.

“They had their struggles so far, but the playoffs start 0-0 for everyone,” Maccabi captain John Dibartolomeo said ahead of the team’s flight to Madrid. “They are a very good team, they have a lot of good players who have been in this situation before. We expect a difficult game in Madrid, but we are looking forward to the challenge.”

“We’re going to try to put our stamp on the game in game one but it’s always tough to play road games they had a strong season and that’s why they have home court advantage. We played them tough in their gym before but it’s a challenge and we have come ready to fight,” Dibartolomeo concluded.

Should Maccabi win one of the two games in Spain, the pressure will be squarely on Real heading back to what will be a raucous Yad Eliyahu for games three and four, but Guerschon Yabusele will make sure to do everything in their power to not let that happen.

“We must focus on everything we do and be ready to face to complicated games at home. Maccabi comes here with the idea of winning at least one of the two games and we must use our advantage to prevent that from happening. We are focused, we had a good weeks worth of work and we are ready. Maccabi is a good team that plays with energy. The point position is key for them, because all their game starts from there. We will try to do a good job to stop them and use our home-court advantage.”

Real coach Pablo Laso feels good about his team’s chances in the series and has been in they situation many times since taking over the reins just over a decade ago, “We are in the most demanding moment of the season because many games are stuck together and in this series we face one of the best teams in Europe. The team is aware of that and in that sense, I am calm.”

“We have to play a good game, guard players that excel at the one-on-one, and who are creative. Even if we dominated many aspects in Tel Aviv, they managed to turn the game upside down. We must be aware of all that and count on the support of our fans, who will be key in a series like this one. I have no doubts they will respond.”

Jalen Reynolds understands what the key to getting by Real Madrid will be as he will match up against two of Europe’s finest centers, We have to be locked in, focussed and get them out of the paint and far away from the basket as possible. The main thing is to stay humble and hungry. We play hard, fight and stay together. I think we have a great chance. It’s just one game at a time plus we have the best fans in the world and it’s great that they will be with us.”