Maccabi Tel Aviv Satisfied With Defense Despite Preseason Struggles

Maccabi Tel Aviv returned to Israel after participating in the Nicosia tournament, where they played two exhibition games. The team is preparing for the upcoming season, which includes a press conference on Tuesday and the Super Cup game against Hapoel Tel Aviv on Thursday. In their final tournament match, Maccabi lost to EuroLeague champions Olympiacos 77-72 in Cyprus. Despite the loss, the team expressed satisfaction with their defensive performance, particularly in the first half against Olympiacos and against Aris.

"There are many positive things we can take from this weekend," stated a club official. "We looked very good defensively against Olympiacos, and similarly in the first half against Aris. Things are starting to come together for us, players are settling in, and we have more defensive capabilities." Player Bonzi Colson added, "The goal in preparation games is to improve within the defensive and offensive system. I think we've progressed during the games, we moved the ball and stuck to our rules. We have a lot to improve on, but we've also progressed so far. We have players who continued from previous seasons, players who returned, and we're working on chemistry. There's good energy here, which is a big advantage. It's a good start to the season; we'll go back to the film room and be better."

Maccabi is reportedly unconcerned about the lukewarm performance of new player Keton Wallace in the exhibition games. "We knew we would have to pay a certain price with him at this stage. He hasn't played at this level, doesn't know the style, and it takes time," said club sources. "He will be in a completely different place in a month."

While Yarin Mada is expected to play on Thursday despite a late injury scare that was deemed not serious, Daniel Theis is questionable. The team is being cautious with his ankle injury and may hold him out beyond Thursday's game. A decision regarding Oshae Brissett's playing time is expected to be based on team needs, as Maccabi has numerous players at the forward positions.