TAU stun Maccabi in opener

Having lost their last four contests to the Israeli champions, including defeats in the Euroleague Final Four the past two years, TAU had to battle to break the psychological edge of the four-time European champions.

Though they promised to put the absence of coach Velimir Perasovic, hospitalised since Monday with angina pectoris, out of their minds prior to the match, the victory was clearly an emotional one for the visitors.

Except for a brief spell in the third quarter, TAU led for most of the game looking far more determined than the hosts.

In a brilliant first quarter guard Igor Rakocevic scored 16 points on 6-for-6 shooting (4-for-4 on three-point attempts) to put TAU up 30-24 after one period of play draining a long three from the top of the key at the end of the opening frame.

Despite the first-quarter heroics, Rakocevic finished the night with just 19 points, which was still enough to lead all scorers.

In the second period TAU opened up their lead to ten points before the hosts came charging back on the strength of substitute Lior Eliyahu, who scored a team-leading 17 points on the night.

TAU scored the last five points of the half to go into the break trailing by a single point.

In the third quarter Maccabi's defence clamped down and a burst from Tal Burnstein, who finished with 13 points, helped the hosts to a seven-point lead.

TAU went on a 13-4 run at the end of the quarter to reclaim the lead as Fred House drew three fouls thanks to some strong penetration and the visitors went into the final period leading 57-54.

Thanks to back-to-back three-pointers from Turkish duo Ender Arslan and Serkan Erdogan TAU went up by 11 points with eight minutes left to play and never looked back.

"It feels very good to win on their court. We are putting ourselves in a good position for first place," said House, who finished the game with 9 points. "I don't think it was easy."

Maccabi coach Neven Spahija was left blaming himself for the loss.

"Maybe the problem is with me, because in practice it works good. I used all my knowledge in basketball in the last 10 days," the boss of the 2005 Euroleague champions said.

Maccabi center Nikola Vujcic was also left at a loss, despite nearly finishing the night with a triple-double after scoring 12 points, grabbing 10 rebound and dishing out 8 assists.

"They scored in crazy percentages from the field, especially in the first and last moments of the game," Vujcic said. "They are a very good team, and we tried to do our best."

Elsewhere on Thursday the favourites dominated, with Panathinaikos demolishing Efes Istanbul 84-57 to move to the top of Group F.

ULEB Cup champions Dynamo Moscow also cruised to an 86-74 victory over Aris Thessaloniki in Greece.

Both Malaga and Barcelona earned easy home-wins, with the Spanish champions beating Benetton Treviso 75-61 and Barca beating Sopot 92-73.