Maccabi Ramat Gan wins first BCL game, evens record at 1-1

Oct 15, 2024 | Holyland Hoops

Maccabi Ramat Gan downed VEF Riga 78-71 to win their first Basketball Champions League game and even up their continental record at 1-1. Shmulik Brenner’s team saw Amin Stevens set the tone early while Roberto Gallinat, Drew Crawford and Kendale McCullum all score big baskets to take the win.

Amin Stevens – Photo credit: BCL


Amin Stevens had the hot hand early on for Maccabi Ramat Gan as the Israeli side grabbed a quick 11-0 lead as Issuf Sanon tried to keep VEF Riga close but down 20-13 after ten minutes of play. Roberto Gallinat kept Shmulik Brenner’s squad in front in the second quarter as Vyacheslav Bobrov countered for the visitors but Ramat Gan went into halftime with a 38-30 advantage.

Photo credit: BCL


Harrison Cleary and Sanon scored at will to get the third quarter underway as they continued to find the bottom of the basket throughout the period to snack a 55-50 lead after thirty minutes of action. But Stevens, Kendale McCullum and Drew Crawford helped Ramat gan retake the lead while Gallinat scored as well to notch the 7-point win.

Photo credit: BCL


Stevens and Gallinat each scored 16 points, Crawford added 13 points and McCullum chipped in with 10 points in the win while Sanon scrod 19 points and Cleary put in 17 points in the loss.

Photo credit: BCL


“This is a big victory for us,” Brenner said following the game. “We are very excited to achieve Maccabi Ramat Gan’s forts win in the BCL. It was not easy, we played against a strong, aggressive and very experienced team. Considering that we were not having our best shooting night, we are very, very happy and proud that we were able to implement our defensive game plan and win a contest that is very significant for us in general and certainly for the future.”

Roberto Gallinat also spoke about the win, “This was a very important game for us, the team’s first victory in Europe after 22 years so it felt special. We fell behind after they scored 6 3-pointers in the third quarter and thanks to our team play and high motivation we were able to come back nicely. This showed how tough our team is. I really hope this is a special moment for everyone in Israel as well.”

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