There was no question that Maccabi Tel Aviv needed the Derby win more than Hapoel Tel Aviv. That not to say the Reds wouldn’t have been happy and even ecstatic had they been victorious, but a home loss for the yellow-and-blue to their arch-rivals would have been devastating following three Euroleague defeats in a row and Oded Katash knew that full well when he entered the press conference room following the 95-90 win.

Katash needed the win badly and he got it by the hair of his chinny, chin, chin.

The relief oozed off of the bench boss as he took to the podium knowing that despite winning the game, his team still has a million and one questions marks and issues that still need to be sorted out.

Whether it’s finding the best rotation, knowing who he can really trust or not, controlling the boards, trying to get the best out of every player or locating that missing killer instinct ingredient, Katash is well aware that each move or on-move he makes will be analyzed and over analyzed.

Did the yellow-and-blue play their best game? Definitely not, especially after giving up 90 points. However, they knew how to win it despite giving up a double digit lead and the Reds closed the gap to just a single point, 91-90 with 16 seconds left on the clock. But Maccabi knew what to do down the stretch to close out the win and had into a Euroleague double week that features a date with Olympiacos at home on Tuesday and a road trip back to Belgrade for the second time in a week where they will face Red Star at the legendary Pionir Arena.

Maccabi seemed to be in control throughout the 40 minutes against Hapoel as six players finished the game in double figures but it was no doubt the captain John Dibartolomeo who provided a huge 3rd quarter spark with a trio of triples to end the game with 18 points in an MVP performance.

John D has been terrific for the most part this season and after only playing sparingly in Maccabi’s 96-88 loss at Partizan Belgrade, #12 was back and better than ever as he drilled home triple after triple to energize his team and the crowd in a game that the yellow-and-blue needed that boost.

“It was very hard to get back after the game in Belgrade. It was great we played this game at home because the fans were able to give us energy,” Katash said after the team landed back in Israel on Saturday following a Friday night game in Serbia and then had to turnaround to play a Derby on Sunday with a pair of continental clashes coming up this week.

Katash praised Dibartolomeo who came out swinging just like world champion boxer Floyd Mayweather did throughout his career as he sat right next to the Maccabi bench or like former captain Derrick Sharp did who was also in attendance for the naturalized Israeli’s performance.

“There is nothing like John D. It’s an honor and privilege to have a player like him who is always focused and is always ready, no matter what the situation is and he always thinks as to what can be done better.”

Dibartolomeo himself knew what kind of weight was lifted off of the yellow-and-blue’s shoulders with the win against Hapoel as he has been around for enough of these Derbies, “These games have a whole other meaning and the longer you are here the more you understand that. These Derbies mean a lot to me and we struggled with them last year.”

Last season, Maccabi had a brutal time against Hapoel losing time and time again in the regular season and State Cup although they did get through their quarterfinal series against the Reds.

“Every derby has its own rules no matter if it’s the 5th game of the season,” Roman Sorkin, who recorded a 14 point and 13 rebound double-double said. “Every derby is important for the club and everyone part of the staff. We didn’t come in worried or nervous, but to win the game, to play good basketball and after losing our last game we wanted to get back to having positive momentum.”

One aspect that Sorkin provides is rebounding and being present in the paint which is something that both Alex Poythress and Josh Nebo have struggled with this season. The Israeli who pulled down 8 offensive rebounds was truly dominant down low as he led the team in outrebounding Hapoel 44-38 in what was one of the small details and difference makers in the win.

“I just tried to play my game and Oded asked us to go for the offensive rebounds (Maccabi took 21) after not doing so last game,” Sorkin said.

While Poythress was dressed for the game, Nebo was not along with Jarell Martin, Darrun Hilliard and Austin Hollins while a number of Israelis may have been on the bench but did not see action in Iftach Ziv and Guy Pnini who had a short appearance inbounding the ball with seconds left on the clock.

Katash can say that he trusts all of his players until the cows come home, but it also doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see who is playing and who isn’t, who are his go to players are who are not.

“We have 15 players and everyone can play,” Sorkin explained. “Iftach and Rafi Menco (who didn’t dress in the last Euroleague game) are very mentally strong and very good players. There are always these types of situations where one day you’ll play and one day you won’t. They have to stay with it and keep working hard, the opportunities will come.”

But it’s clear that Ziv is just not one of the players Katash is going to rely on against big teams or in big games and this was both.

For Hapoel Tel Aviv, they also now have a full complement of import players with a number not being able to dress in Israeli league play and are competing the EuroCup. For coach Danny Franco, he is not that concerned preparing for a team like Maccabi as he says that they are so similar to the other teams in the Israeli league which are all full of American players.

The bigger issue, the Reds bench boss said is playing the likes of an ACB team from Spain which is a totally different style of game that one has to prepare for, “We have a game against the second best team in Spain and that gets me more concerned than games here where we are playing primarily against Americans. They have players and a style that is much different than we play. Maccabi is much closer to the style of the teams in Israel and Gran Canaria will try to take the life out of us.”

Franco now has many of the same issues that Katash has in terms of his roster. Whether it’s signing last year’s MVP CVhinanu Onuaku and not listing him for this game, playing Chris Horton whose future with the club is up in the air or just getting his squad in a situation where he is getting the best out of every single player.

“Teams that play in Europe, there are different demands for both competitions. They demand serious depth. We know what Onukau can offer and we need to integrate him into the team properly. Just like we did with Jordan McRae when he arrived and it took time, we will do the same with other players, there is pressure and over time we will all be fine from the signing as we work them into the rotation.”

As Maccabi now turns their attention to Olympiacos, Katash has to make sure that some of the mistakes that his squad have made over the past few weeks will be at a be minimum. If they are not, he knows full well that Georgios Bartzokas will make Maccabi pay and pay dearly. But one also has to realize that Maccabi is still in building mode after totally remaking the roster over the summer whereas the Greeks are in a totally different spot.

“They are playing the best basketball in Europe right now and they have been building something special over the last few years. This will be a big challenge. We aren’t where Olympiacos is who are building and just adding pieces to the team each season.”

However, if Katash wants to win, he will need to get one Lorenzo Brown back into the prime Brown that helped Spain win the European Championships. In Israeli league play, Brown is only averaging 5.5 points and 5.3 assists having scored only 4 points against Hapoel while his numbers in continental play are much higher checking in with 15.5 points and 6.4 assists. But the last game at Partizan, the guard scored 8 points and went 3/10. Is it time to be concerned? Doubtful as Katash knows what type of asset he has.

“I trust Lorenzo and when I talk about a difficult schedule it effects the players. He is one of our leaders and at the end of the day we will go as far as Lorenzo takes us. He came here to be a dominant player.”

But one part of Maccabi’s game that needs to change is the fact that Katash has mentioned numerous times which is that there is no real “bad” guy on the team which is lacking that killer instinct.

Maccabi needs to know how to kill a game but also have that player who will just finish the opponent off. Could that be Wade Baldwin who was superb? Can it be Brown or Katash himself or perhaps someone that is not yet on the team. Will there be changes to the squad? That seems to be the logical thought when seeing who is playing and who is not. But will that killer be a newcomer or someone within the current squad will rise to the occasion.

“It’s hard for me to say, it’s still a new team,” Katash began. “We are going through experiences like winning against Monaco and losing badly to Baskonia. We spoke about starting games well and using fouls which we have been working on and getting better at.”

“If we play every two days and we are on the video room where it’s the only place to fix those mistakes it’s not easy, it’s a challenge. As a coach when you are up 13 points, you want to kill a game but it’s not that simple. We played a good team that keeps getting stronger in Hapoel, just look at the signings they made. The Euroleague is very tough and there are teams with big budgets. We are fighting and we are there. We are trying to get better each and every day.”

Dibartolomeo also spoke about that weakness in the current makeup of the team, “I think we have it and it hasn’t come out yet. We have struggled with this throughout the year with getting leads and not maintaining them. We have to give credit to Hapoel and offensively they are very talented and are a dangerous team. It’s something that we have to improve on and it comes down to defense when our offense kind of falters our defense has to be that much better and I think we let it effect our defense a little too much. That’s an area that we highlight and we have to improve on.”

Bottom line is, Maccabi is a work in progress and as they say, the next game is what is most important no matter what. Dibartolomeo knows full well that in order to come away with the win against Olympiacos it will be all hands on deck in what will need to be a complete game.

“This is Maccabi and we have our expectations here especially when we play in front of our home crowd. They are a very strong team and it will take a very good game by us to come out with a win, but that’s part of the Euroleague and part of the challenge that’s why we are all here and we are looking forward to it.”