Maccabi Tel Aviv downed Red Star Belgrade 85-73 as John Dibartolomeo and Tamir Blatt shot lights out from deep to pick up the win. The yellow-and-blue quickly came out of the gate as Rokas Jokubaitis and Blatt both scored while Dibartolomeo also found points to take a 44-32 lead at halftime. Filip Petrusev and Milos Teodosic began cutting into the gap but Jaylen Hoard and Roman Sorkin helped put the game away.

Dibartolomeo scored 15 points (5/7 from deep), Tamir Blatt found 14 points (4/5) and Hoard put in 13 points in the win. Teodosic scored 15 points and Petrusev added 14 points in the loss.

“After some bad games in the Euroleague, we played the right way right from the beginning,” Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach Oded Katash said. “We came out aggressive, we won the 50/50 balls and the rebound battles. We found a way to have 3-4 really good practices and this was the result. We have to take this game and get some confidence out of it. I really liked the way we played, it’s important for our fans and it’s important for us. I am really happy.”

“Maccabi deserved to win and they played better than us,” Red Star Belgrade Head Coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos said, “:e started in the first quarter following the game plan better than in the seance quarter and we didn’t move the ball the right way, we made bad decisions to stop Maccabi’s good offense. We came back from 15 points to 8 but it wasn’t wasn’t enough. They had the double digit difference and they won the age, we weren’t aggressive and we have to change this.

Captain John Dibartolomeo spoke about the victory, “It was a good game for us and I am happy as to how we played on both ends especially on the defensive side of the ball. We were reactive and we were communicating and that needs to be the baseline for us. It’s a good end to the week which began with the hostages coming home. Overall we are very happy. We have had trouble protecting our leads this year, but we withstood their runs, we stayed together, we stayed positive and we were able to get a much needed and well deserved win.”

Tamir Blatt spoke about the win and the hostages starting to return home, “We really needed it and I thought we played great on both ends. We started off defensively and did the job well on offense. I’m happy and we have to build from this. It’s the Euroleague and every game matters. We will keep fighting anf try to get as may wins as we can. We are all waiting for the hostages and hopefully that will happen as fast as possible and they can join us and come to our games.”

Joel Bolomboy and Jaylen Hoard traded baskets to begin the game, Codi Miller-McIntyre scored a pair of baskets, Rokas Jokubatis went from deep and Roman Sorkin scored inside, John Brown hit a long deuce, Tamir Blatt hit a pair of triples to give Maccabi Tel Aviv a 13-12 lead midway through the first quarter. Sorkin put in points inside, Ognen Dobric did the same, Levi Randolph and Filip Petrusev traded baskets, while points from Jasiel Rivero gave the yellow-and-blue a 21-20 lead after ten minutes of play.

Maccabi’s big men Trevion Williams and Rivero both scored to open the second quarter, John Dibartolomeo went for a pair from deep, Yago Dos Santos and Rokas Giedraitis both dialed up from long distance, while Dibartolomeo and Milos Teodosic traded triples but Maccabi stayed in for 36-28 with 5:15 left in the period. Luca Mitrovic put in a deuce, Hoard put down a pair of dunks, Jokubatis scored as well to keep Oded Katash’s team ahead 44-32 at halftime.

Nikola Kalinic and Petrusev both scored to begin the third quarter, Blatt from deep and Hoard on the inside responded, Sorkin and Jokubatis scored while Petrusev continued to fill the basket but Maccabi stayed in font 55-42 midway through the frame. Petrusev again found points, Dibartolomeo went from deep, Teodosic hit back-to-back 3-pointers, Sorkin scored as did Marial Shayok but more points from Teodosic scored 12 in a row for Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s team cut the lead down to 67-59 after thirty minutes of action.

Williams put in a trio of baskets to begin the fourth quarter, Joel Bolomboy came back with points, Dibartolomeo drilled another 3-pointer as Maccabi continued to lease 78-63 with 5 minutes remaining in regulation time. Bolomboy and Kalinic scored, Hoard put in a 3-point play, Blatt hit a triple as the shot clock expired as the yellow-and-blue closed out the win.