Hapoel Tel Aviv back on track in Euroleague return; Maccabi falls

Tel Aviv — Hapoel Tel Aviv snapped a three-game road slide and reignited its EuroLeague playoff push with an 80-75 victory over FC Barcelona at Palau Blaugrana on Thursday night, while crosstown rival Maccabi Tel Aviv stumbled in Italy, falling 96-87 to AX Armani Exchange Milan.

Playing their first continental contest since the competition’s two-week hiatus caused by the regional conflict with Iran, the Reds leaned on a pair of explosive performances from Dan Oturu and Elijah Bryant. Oturu poured in 22 points and Bryant chipped in 21, pacing Hapoel to its first away win since late February. Season-long contributor Jordan Blakeney added eight points as the Israelis improved to 18-11 and climbed into fifth place with two games in hand, distancing themselves from the fraught Play-In tournament zone.

Barcelona, now on the outside looking in at the top-eight picture, got 17 points from Kevin Punter and 15 from Will Clyburn. Veteran guard Tomas Satoransky finished with 11, but the Catalans could not overcome 18 turnovers and shaky foul shooting.

“We started rusty, let’s be honest,” Hapoel head coach Dimitris Itoudis admitted afterward. “But we got used to it after that very well. In two quarters, we gave up 14 points—the second quarter and the last quarter. The problems for us were turnovers. We turned the ball over too much and missed free throws. But other than that, we had a clear target of what to do.”

The win keeps Hapoel within striking distance of the top quartet and provides a timely confidence boost ahead of a condensed closing stretch.

Maccabi’s European fortunes moved in the opposite direction at the Mediolanum Forum. Gur Lavy posted a career-high scoring output for the yellow-and-blue, yet it was not enough to counter former Maccabi center Josh Nebo, who dominated inside and claimed game-MVP honors. Nebo’s two-way effort spearheaded a balanced Milan attack that shot efficiently from long distance and answered every Maccabi run down the stretch.

The defeat drops Maccabi to 14-16, leaving the club in 13th place—three games behind the final Play-In berth with only eight regular-season contests remaining.

“We played against a good team and they shot the ball really well,” Maccabi coach Oded Kattash said. “We did a better job in the second half and the most important thing is that we kept fighting. We have a week to recover and get the next one.”

Nebo, who spent two seasons in Tel Aviv before moving to Italy, emphasized the importance of closing strong: “In the past we had some trouble in the fourth quarter and today was a big step forward in responding to their run and closing the game out. It was a tough game and we’re trying to push for a spot in the playoffs, so I try to bring my best effort to every matchup.”

With the EuroLeague table tightening, Hapoel will look to capitalize on its momentum when action resumes next week, while Maccabi faces a desperate sprint to keep its postseason hopes alive.