Basketball: Maccabi TA leaves it late at Givat Shmuel
Vujcic comes to the rescue with 23 points as team wins 98-75 after 4th quarter burst.
By Vered CohenMaccabi Tel Aviv once again had to rely on Nikola Vujcic as it left things late in a 98-75 win at Givat Shmuel in last night's Premier League round.
While the scoreline paints a picture of a comfortable win, Maccabi looked anything but comfortable for the first three quarters in what should have been no more than a warm-up for Wednesday's Euroleague Top 16 encounter with Tau Vitoria.
Coach Neven Spahija was forced to rely on Nikola Vujcic to ensure the victory instead of allowing him to rest ahead of Maccabi's crucial Euroleague game.
"I do my job; that's what I'm paid for," Vujcic told Haaretz after leading Maccabi with a game high 23 points, 6 rebound and 5 assists. Sharon Sasson followed with 19 points in just 17 minutes and Lior Eliahu, Tal Burstein and Yotam Halperin each hit 10.
Moshe Brener led Givat Shmuel with 17 and Boo Davis followed with 16.
After a tight first half that ended 41-38 to Maccabi, Spahija's team went into the final period ahead 67-61, before turning on the heat to win by double figures.
"Maccabi is the best team in the Euroleague in the fourth quarter. I'm not very happy with what I saw, but the important thing is that we won," said Maccabi co-owner Ra'anan Katz.
Elsewhere, Ironi Ramat Gan won 95-93 at Galil Elyon; Ironi Nahariya won 74-71 at Maccabi Rishon; and Gilboa/Afula won 90-83 at Ashkelon.
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