Maccabi Tel Aviv will head out to Monaco for a Euroleague Gameday 29 clash at the Principality where they will want to continue marching towards the postseason. With a 13-15 record good for 13th place, the yellow-and-blue are three games behind in the win column from 6th to 10th place and a spot in the Play In with 10 games remaining in the regular season.

Monaco sports a 16-12 record and are in 8th place as Vaislis Spanoulis’s team has experienced some off the court financial issues of late, however, Maccabi Head Coach Oded Katash doesn’t want to read too much into what seems to be outside noise.

“Monaco, despite all the rumors and talk, we know we prepared well for this game. They’re going through a good period as a team and we’re obviously aware of their quality and experience. They have many scorers and it’s a very tough challenge. To compete with them, we’ll really need to play a near-perfect game.”

One of the Maccabi’s most important players is without a doubt Lonnie Walker who just returned to action this past Sunday night against Nes Ziona after he had been out for a couple of months with a shoulder injury.

“Against Ness Ziona he hit his first four shots, which was very impressive, that’s Lonnie Walker,” Katash said. “But there are many parameters in a basketball game and there are other aspects related to game fitness. It’s not just about scoring points. In that sense, there’s still a way to go, for him as well to get back into shape and connect more with the team. We’ll need him in this game as we can’t afford to have a weak point. I’m sure he’ll get a few stretches of minutes and be able to play, but we need to do it on both ends of the court.

Walker, who played limited minutes in the win over Nes Ziona may have to also be managed for the time being in order to get the most out of his abilities as well as reintegrating into the team, the bench boss explained, “These are similar dilemmas. He’s an exceptional person and a really excellent player. But the dilemmas related to integrating a player after injury, that’s something we deal with regularly. It’s part of our daily routine, game by game and we’ll handle it the same way with Lonnie.”

“It’s a difficult game,” Walker himself said. “We got to bounce back from round one (the 112-107 overtime loss). I think we’re in a really good place as a team as a whole. I think we’ll have a better outcome hopefully this time, this time around.”

Walker also discussed getting back to the court and contributing on the court, “It’s one of the hardest parts as a competitor or just being in sports in general with having certain injuries. It was tough, but we got great guys and they make the transition, they make everything really, really easy. O’Shea Brissett, Roman Sorkin, you name it. Even with the days where I might have felt down, I had teammates to pick me up.”

Brissett also shared his thoughts on the Monaco matchup, “They are a very good team. We’re excited just to get back on the floor, two days in between games feels like forever especially that we haven’t travelled in a long time. I know that we’re excited just to get out there and start playing. I just want to get the win ultimately no matter what it takes.”

The Canadian forward knows that getting Walker back in the saddle will be a difference maker for the club, “There’s confidence for everyone knowing that we have our main guy back, ready to play. Fresh legs for him and I know he’s excited as well. Him being out there gives everyone more confidence, knowing he’s going to take a lot of the pressure and attention. We just have to be ready to score when he passes the ball. So we’re excited and I know he’s excited to be out there too.”

Speaking of welcoming players back, Maccabi added a new/old face this week in Amit Ebo who returned to the Holy Land after having played in Slovakia, Lithuania and France since 2023. The former Maccabi youth star, who made his debut for the yellow-and-blue back in the 2016/17 season will add depth to the team’s backcourt after losing Iffe Lundberg to injury.

“We met him a little bit this morning,” Walker commented. “Seems like he has his head on his shoulders. I believe he was in Lithuania and can shoot the ball. Definitely want to see what he can do on the court for sure.”

Brissett also spoke about the Ebo addition, “I’m excited. I always like seeing new faces and we can always use and welcome new people, excited to have him out there and just get going.”

As for the Play In which is on the minds of every Maccabi fan, Katash is trying to stay away from thinking about the postseason and is taking it one game at a time as they head into the last ten games of the regular season.

“The talk about the Play In isn’t something that enters our locker room, not because we don’t want it, but because it’s still too early. Every game is important. You can say that about the next one too. Hopefully we’ll be in that position, but even if not, every game is important for us, to play well, continue the good period and build confidence.”

Maccabi supporters would have perhaps never been in the position to dream of the postseason had the Euroleague games not have returned to Israel. But since they have come back to Yad Eliyahu, it’s been the fans who have helped the club pick up one win after the next on their true home court.

“There’s no doubt that maybe the main reason for our good period is that we returned home to our crowd. Any presence of fans is exciting as they come and support us. They’re our strength.”