Maccabi Tel Aviv Faces Barcelona in Euroleague Away Clash

Maccabi Tel Aviv's Euroleague campaign continues tomorrow (Tuesday, 21:30) at the Palau Blaugrana, where they will face Barcelona. Maccabi enters the match in 18th place in the standings with one win and three losses, while the Catalans sit in ninth place with two wins and two losses.

Maccabi held its final training session in Tel Aviv today before flying to Spain. The coaching staff has an almost full squad available, with only Gor Lavi, who has been injured for a long time, sidelined. The staff will need to drop two players from the roster, after Amit Abo and captain John DiBartolomeo sat out the previous game. However, DiBartolomeo looked impressive in the weekend match against Hapoel Galil Elyon.

Keys to the Match in Spain

Maccabi knows that after a poor start to the season, they must start accumulating victories, even in tough arenas, and this double-week in Spain presents an ideal opportunity. The team emphasizes controlling the pace and securing rebounds as the vital keys to positioning themselves for an away upset against Barcelona.

Before departing for Spain, head coach Oded Kattash addressed the high tempo of their upcoming opponents:

"We will face slightly different teams, but if they have something in common, it is the high pace they play at, and we must be prepared for that. No matter how much we talk, we will only experience it on the court, but we need to know how to choose the right lineups and perhaps the players who suit this style best."

Reflecting on the previous week, which was successful for the yellow-and-blue, Kattash added: "It improved the atmosphere and I hope we built some toughness, mentally as well, but it remains a test when we are away from our home crowd."

Scouting Barcelona

Barcelona underwent a major overhaul this past summer. Slovenian coach Aleksander Sekulić is now at the helm, attempting to steer the storied club toward success.

Barcelona's biggest star is Kevin Punter, who is averaging 17.2 points per game. Justin Robinson, who joined from Paris, adds 11.5 points, while Omoya Gibson contributes 10 points per game. Josh Nebo has returned from injury and shares the frontcourt with Polish center Olek Balcerowski.