Basketball / Euroleague Top 16 / The Real thing: Maccabi slays Madrid

Maccabi Tel Aviv staged one of its finest performances of its European season last night, breaking continental hoops giant Real Madrid 81-76 in front of 11,500 raucous fans at Yad Eliahu Arena. Alan Anderson and Chuck Eidson led the charge for Maccabi, whose win keeps alive its hopes of progressing to the Euroleague quarterfinal. A loss would have meant almost certain elimination.

Tel Aviv is now third in Group F, whose members are locked at one win and loss apiece. Istanbul's Efes Pilsen - Maccabi 's opponent at home on Thursday - sits atop the group on a razor-thin 3-point difference, followed by Madrid with 2 points and Tel Aviv with 1. Italian champion Montepaschi Siena rounds out the group.

"This is one of the so-called classicos of European basketball," Madrid coach Ettore Messina said before the game, hinting at the storied Madrid-Barcelona soccer rivalry. "This is a very important game, as are all other games in the Top 16."

After a tightly fought first quarter ended tied at 18, Maccabi pulled away in the second and third, stretching its advantage to 10 points by the end of the third. In the final quarter its grip slackened as it was outscored by its guest 22-17, but tenacious play on both ends of the court allowed the home team to hang on.

"We just wanted to play a full 48 minutes, because we know they're a good team and they wouldn't give up," said Anderson, the team's starting small forward. "We tip our hat to the crowd because they did a great job."

Anderson earned man of the match honors with 20 points on 40-percent shooting, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Eidson followed close behind with 18 points and center D'or Fischer added 14 of his own.

Rimantas Kaukenas led Real scorers with 17. His club registered an atrocious 5 for 24 shooting from three-point range.

"We're staying mellow," Fischer said in the locker room. "We haven't done anything yet. We're just hoping for more wins."

"I said before the match that it would be very difficult for us, and it really was," Messina said afterward. "Maccabi Tel Aviv is a very good team at Yad Eliahu. It leaves the impression that this group will be determined at the very last moment, perhaps even on point difference."