Mac TA to tip-off year in Rio, US
The Euroleague champions head to Brazil for Rosh Hashanah, then America
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Before dunking on their South American rivals, the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team will spend Rosh Hashanah dunking apples in honey in Rio ahead of a championship caliber exhibition game.
The Euroleague-winning squad will face off against Brazil’s Flamengo, the Liga de las Americas champions, on September 26 and 28 for a global tournament of championship-winning teams that is being renewed after a 20-year break.
“We have a very busy schedule but it’s important to us as a team, so we will make time to do a holiday meal together,” said coach Guy Goodes, during a press conference earlier this week.
Goodes was excited about the South American game, but is also focused on two other upcoming games, one on October 5 against former Maccabi coach David Blatt and his new team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and another on October 7, against the Brooklyn Nets. Both of those games will be played on the American teams’ home courts.
After winning the Euroleague championship last spring, winning head coach David Blatt left Israel to pursue his dream of coaching an NBA team. Goodes, his assistant, took over as Maccabi’s head coach
Adding to the drama, the game against the Cavaliers will also be star player LeBron James’ first game back in a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform, making it highly charged game for players and fans.
Shortly after Blatt’s announcement, LeBron James, one of the biggest names in sports across the globe, decided he would be returning to play in Cleveland.
“Goodes is going up against his former head coach and he knows his basketball strategy,” said Shlomo Rabinowitz, part of Maccabi’s press team. “For the players, it’s very motivating. They’re a new team, with a new roster, and they’re working on getting their groove together. But they want to win.”
The game against the Brooklyn Nets, in their Barclay Center home in Brooklyn, is a big deal for Maccabi player Sylven Landesberg, the team’s half-Jewish, half Trinidadian player who was born in Brooklyn and in 2008 was New York State Mr. Basketball and named All American.
For player Jeremy Pargo, who played for several NBA teams, including the Cavaliers, the upcoming games are an opportunity to utilize the NBA “style of play,” he said.
“It’s slam-dunk destiny,” quipped Rabinowitz.
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