Maccabi Lose In Euroleague Final
Maccabi Tel Aviv’s hopes of winning the 2008 Euroleague were ended at the weekend after they fell to a 91-77 defeat to CSKA Moscow.
Having qualified for the final four in Madrid, Maccabi booked their place in the final after overcoming Italians Montepaschi Siena 92-85.
However, Sunday’s final was one step too far. Although the first two quarters saw the sides only divided by a point with the Russians leading 42-41, they ran away with the tie in the last two quarters to pick up their second Euroleague success in three years, and sixth overall.
Maccabi Head Coach Zvi Sherf said: “We are all sorry and sad. Nobody wants to lose the final. I would like to congratulate the winners. They deserved the win. They are a very, very good team. They play great inside and outside but I would also like to congratulate my players, they gave everything they had. The first half was pretty equal. We missed 4 free throws at the end of the first half and that was not good. But we didn't play very good in the third quarter and CSKA Moscow did a good show stopping our players. We didn't play the defense we wanted and didn't hit some shots we should have. And once you're down 8 or 9 points against CSKA Moscow, it's like 20 points to other teams.
“No coach likes to lose the final game. It leaves a bitter feeling in your mouth. We're proud of everything we’ve done and the problems we’ve got passed.”
