Maccabi Tel Aviv welcomes Olympiacos at their home away from home in Belgrade’s Pionir Arena on Thursday (20:00 Israel time) for the backend of a Euroleague Double Week after having fallen to Panathinaikos in Athens 93-87 on Tuesday. Despite the loss and the fact that one of the best team’s in the continent is up next for Head Coach Oded Katash’s squad as he may need to pull another rabbit out of the hat, the yellow-and-blue received some good news with the signing of Marial Shayok.

The 29-year old swingman has had a colorful career having been born and raised in Canada and having played for the South Sudan National Team that came oh so close to defeating the United States this past summer with 25 points in a 101-100 defeat, while also competing in the Olympics together with his new Maccabi teammate Wenyen Gabriel.

Shayok had been on the yellow-and-blue radar for a number of years after having attended college at Vrginia and then Iowa State for his senior season where he teamed up with Tyrese Haliburton and averaged 18.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg and 2 asg. After being selected 54th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, he played in the Association as well as the club’s G-League affiliate on a two-way contract.

It was off to Bursaspor after that which was followed up by a season with Fenerbahce before heading back to the G-League. It was on to China for a short stint and after having been released by Flying Leopards, Maccabi got their man as they pounced on the opportunity to add the Ottawa, Ontario native.

Known as a good ball-handler, capable of freeing himself for his shots as well as playing off the ball, Shayok shot over 41% from beyond the arc this past season going 115/280 for the Shandong Heroes.

“We are pleased that a player like Marial is joining us,” head coach Oded Katash said. “He’s a shooter that will give us more versatility and depth at the guard and forward positions and we are looking forward to getting him up to speed quickly so he can help us achieve our goals.”

Shayok also spoke about signing a 2-year deal with Maccabi, “I’m beyond excited to join the great club that is Maccabi, connect with passionate fans and play the game I love at a high level. I’m looking forward to give my all on and off the court. I’m thankful for this opportunity.”

The inking of Shayok will most certainly help the team by getting some of the plyers minutes down, especially those of Levi Randolph who is playing well over 30 per game which is way too much. The other question that needs to be raised is Saben Lee’s future with the team due to the fact that he has yet to come to Israel and is not practicing with the team on a regular basis.

It’s clear that Katash is not thrilled with the arrangement that he was not party to but has to deal with and maybe Lee may be on his way out especially with Shayok coming in who is a 2-3 and not a 3-4 which is what Maccabi had been trying to find.

Shayok will be coming to Israel, that’s for sure and he will be able to integrate into the team and if Lee continues to stay abroad, that is not only going to hurt Maccabi but him as well.

But right now, the immediate concern for Katash’s squad is Olympiacos as they will see if they can find a way to split the week and keep their record in striking distance of a Play In spot. But the most important thing is that Maccabi has to understand that Panathinaikos and Olympiacos are two completely different teams.

“These are very different teams, both defensively and offensively,” Katash said. “This is a team with a lot of size, with a very fluid style, playing at a high pace, very aggressive and strong guards who are tough defenders. It is difficult to prepare in just two days but we will try to make the necessary adjustments because it is a completely different game defensively and offensively.”

Gabriel also followed up on his coach’s comments, “They guard the pick and roll differently so that is something that we will try and take advantage of in terms of drop defense or if they turn over to switching defense which was something that we didn’t see much of last game, so it might be a different game offensively. Also, they have some more bigs on Olympiacos and they play with a lot of off ball action, a lot of ball movement and more of a pick and roll game.”

Rokas Jokubaitis who will need to be up to the test also chimed in on the upcoming clash, “We know that they are one of the top in Europe and we expect like always a big fight, tough game and very good defensive team that has a lot of talent on both sides of the court. We need to prepare for that. This season may be a bit more tougher but it’s not an excuse. We go into every game to win and make the fans happy.”

Last game, Katash didn’t play the likes of John Dibartolomeo, Jake Cohena and Rafi Menco, so all three of those players are rested and fresh for this game. The bench boss will need to play an extended rotation especially after having just gone with 9 players in the last game while the Piraeus based club used the full complement of players in their close shave victory over ASVEL.
“Teams like Olympiacos with such rosters have long rotations don’t necessarily need their players on the court for too many minutes. They do have an advantage in the double week, but we’ll try to come up with a game plan, execute as much as possible and we must have a good day.”