{"id":170901,"date":"2026-02-13T10:03:03","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T10:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/?p=170901"},"modified":"2026-02-13T14:47:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T14:47:43","slug":"who-would-have-believed-it-maccabi-joins-the-play-in-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/en\/who-would-have-believed-it-maccabi-joins-the-play-in-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Who would have believed it? Maccabi joins the Play In race"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"205\" allow=\"encrypted-media\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.podomatic.com\/embed\/v2\/podcast\/2480369?episode_id=11050917&#038;theme=dark\" style=\"border: medium; height: 205px; width: 100%;\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nI feel a certain mission to write about the incredible drama that unfolded on Thursday night at Yad Eliyahu (If you didn\u2019t see it, well, that\u2019s a real shame). Because a game like this deserves many, many words. It gave us so much. It was extraordinary in so many parameters. A game that produced wild statistical numbers and the one named after a pedal we used in cars to shift gears. <\/p>\n<p>We had a lot of clutch last night. A lot of heroes and villains hitting vicious 3-pointers from unreasonable distances. A lot of runs, a lot of fouls, a lot of gray hairs, a lot of balls bouncing on the rims of the arena and stubbornly refusing to fall, preserving by the grace of their ring-shaped nature (yes) , the yellow team\u2019s play-in dream. 111\u2013106, Maccabi Tel Aviv BC over FC Bayern Munich Basketball. Where on earth do you even begin?<br \/>\n<div id=\"attachment_170845\" style=\"width: 1290px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-170845\" src=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1872.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-170845\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1872.jpeg 1280w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1872-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1872-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1872-768x768.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1872-610x610.jpeg 610w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1872-1080x1080.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1872-440x440.jpeg 440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-170845\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Svetislav Pesic &#8211; Photo credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div><br \/>\nMaybe at the beginning. Bayern, coached by Svetislav Pesic, came into this game with a clear philosophy that had won them their last four games in the best league in Europe: they would tempt their opponent to shoot as much as they liked from beyond the arc and suffocate the paint with multiple layers of help defense. It\u2019s a gamble and recently, it\u2019s worked beautifully. When Pesic\u2019s players managed to hold opponents to low 3-point percentages, as happened in the last three games against AS Monaco Basket, Paris Basketball (33% each) and especially Hapoel Tel Aviv BC (16.7%), those opponents averaged just 73 points per game and the Bavarians won every time.<\/p>\n<p>That gamble failed last against Maccabi, who hovered around 60% from beyond the arc all evening and finished four quarters with 20 made triples (60%). An extraordinary stat, of course and not enough on its own to secure the win, but I\u2019d argue it wasn\u2019t random. The core principle of coach Oded Katash is first and foremost the belief he instills in his players, even if they\u2019re not Europe\u2019s elite headliners.<br \/>\n<div id=\"attachment_170843\" style=\"width: 1290px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-170843\" src=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1897.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-170843\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1897.jpeg 1280w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1897-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1897-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1897-768x768.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1897-610x610.jpeg 610w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1897-1080x1080.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1897-440x440.jpeg 440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-170843\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oded Katash &#8211; Photo credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div><br \/>\nJust like Pesic, Katash gives his guys in yellow-and-blue a green light to shoot with no discrimination of religion, race, gender, socioeconomic background, rotation status, or position. From Jimmy Clark to Marcio Santos and Oshae Brissett to Gur Lavy, everyone has the confidence to fire away and don\u2019t be surprised when they knock them down. This time it was the Tamir Blatt and Will Rayman show who combined for 36 points, 26.5 more (a 278% increase) than their season average of 9.5. They got their shots, took them without hesitation and when their feet were behind the arc, they simply did not miss (11-for-11).<\/p>\n<p>This incredible shooting display didn\u2019t skip the best shooter on the eastern side of the Atlantic either. Personally, I\u2019d bench Brandon Ingram in the All-Star Game and replace the injured Steph Curry with Andreas (Andy) Obst, who dropped 33 points with eight 3-pointers. There were moments in the third quarter (4-for-4 from deep) when I couldn\u2019t understand what this phenomenon was doing on the court in Tel Aviv and not in Los Angeles, a question that answered itself in the fourth, with two rare missed free throws in crunch time.<br \/>\n<div id=\"attachment_170837\" style=\"width: 1290px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-170837\" src=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1903.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-170837\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1903.jpeg 1280w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1903-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1903-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1903-768x768.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1903-610x610.jpeg 610w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1903-1080x1080.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1903-440x440.jpeg 440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-170837\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tamir Blatt &#8211; Photo credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div><br \/>\nAll of this built toward a 90\u201390 tie with 4:42 left in the fourth quarter. That\u2019s when the drama intensified. It became a trench war of scratches and grit, with Roman Sorkin leaving everything on the floor to keep the yellows level at 95 two minutes later. At that moment, Tamir Blatt gave Maccabi the lead with a hustle play, diving for an offensive rebound to set a season high in boards (6), drawing a foul, and setting a new season high in points (20) from the free-throw line. Add 6-for-6 from three, nine assists, and the team\u2019s highest plus-minus (+11) and you could say this was the best European night of David\u2019s son\u2019s career. He was unstoppable.<\/p>\n<p>At that stage, Maccabi led by two but were missing their ultimate closer, Iffe Lundberg, who exited with a suspected ankle injury. In his absence, the ball found Will Rayman, who left a point at the free-throw line and set up what was (supposedly) Bayern\u2019s final possession. It ended with a crazy three by Neno Dimitrijevic in Rayman\u2019s face, plus the foul sending him to the line to put his team ahead with nine seconds left. Clark received the decisive ball and found Brissett inside. He couldn\u2019t finish but drew the foul. The much-maligned forward added another monkey onto his back by missing the crucial free throw, sending us to overtime where redemption awaited him.<br \/>\n<div id=\"attachment_170801\" style=\"width: 1290px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-170801\" src=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2018.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-170801\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2018.jpeg 1280w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2018-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2018-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2018-768x768.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2018-610x610.jpeg 610w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2018-1080x1080.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2018-440x440.jpeg 440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-170801\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jimmy Clark &#8211; Photo credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div><br \/>\nLike the closing minutes, overtime was chaotic, full of monitor reviews, fouls, mistakes, and turnovers. In the end, beyond whatever spirits hover around the rims near Shimon Mizrahi\u2019s seat, what won the game for Maccabi Tel Aviv was the belief Katash gives his players, without discrimination of any kind. The same faith that lets them launch freely in the second quarter gives them the courage to make bold decisions as the clock winds down.<\/p>\n<p>What stood out to me most was that the players who won the game in overtime were precisely those who had played the worst during the first 40 minutes\u2014yet Katash never stopped believing in them. Jimmy Clark had six points on 20% shooting but hit two huge baskets, the last a beautiful euro-step that gave Maccabi breathing room. Jaylen Hoard had been passive on both ends all game, yet stayed on the floor in overtime and added six points, including an alley-oop from Blatt that ignited the arena.<br \/>\n<div id=\"attachment_170799\" style=\"width: 1290px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-170799\" src=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2021.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"853\" class=\"size-full wp-image-170799\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2021.jpeg 1280w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2021-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2021-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2021-610x407.jpeg 610w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2021-1080x720.jpeg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-170799\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oshae Brissett &#8211; Photo credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div><br \/>\nThe final two points in those five minutes belonged to Oshae Brissett, who had missed a critical free throw at the end of regulation, but then put his body on Dimitrijevic, grabbed the ball, and took it all the way for a dunk that sealed the story.<\/p>\n<p>And when the buzzer sounded, Maccabi Tel Aviv found themselves just two wins away from tenth place, the final spot leading to the play-in. Who would have believed it?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I feel a certain mission to write about the incredible drama that unfolded on Thursday night at Yad Eliyahu (If you didn\u2019t see it, well, that\u2019s a real shame). Because a game like this deserves many, many words. It gave us so much. It was extraordinary in so many parameters. A game that produced wild [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":170902,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[4],"class_list":["post-170901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holy-land-hoops","tag-maccabi-tel-aviv","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Who would have believed it? Maccabi joins the Play In race - Sports Rabbi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/en\/who-would-have-believed-it-maccabi-joins-the-play-in-race\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Who would have believed it? Maccabi joins the Play In race - Sports Rabbi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I feel a certain mission to write about the incredible drama that unfolded on Thursday night at Yad Eliyahu (If you didn\u2019t see it, well, that\u2019s a real shame). Because a game like this deserves many, many words. It gave us so much. It was extraordinary in so many parameters. 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