Maccabi Tel Aviv suffered a narrow 90-87 defeat against Barcelona in a fiercely contested Euroleague matchup, dropping their record to 1-4 this season. The game, held on Tuesday night in Barcelona, was decided in the closing seconds by a decisive three-pointer from Barcelona’s Justin Robinson.

Both teams showcased strong performances throughout the game. Yan Madar led Maccabi with a career-high 22 points, supported by Iffe Lundberg’s 13 points and Bonzic Colson’s 12 points. For Barcelona, Kevin Punter tallied 19 points, Umoja Gibson contributed 13, while Joel Parra and Robinson each added 11 points.

Maccabi’s head coach, Oded Katash, expressed some dissatisfaction with his team’s execution during the game. He noted issues with foul management and offensive effectiveness, particularly conceding too many points early in offensive possessions. “There were some strange things going on here, but we were there in the game,” Katash said. “The first half we could have used our fouls a bit better and our offense wasn’t at its best while we gave up a bit too many points in the first eight seconds of the clock. There were a lot of situations that could have been different.”

Barcelona’s Aleksander Sekulic acknowledged the challenge posed by Maccabi and emphasized the impact of the home crowd’s support. “It was a very tough match and loud atmosphere which was a big help for us as Maccabi has a team with a lot of tools,” Sekulic said. “But we also have quality and talent. We only had one day to prepare but the guys were excited and left their hearts on the court.”

Madar, reflecting on the defeat, highlighted the competitiveness and intensity of the Euroleague season. “This is the Euroleague. There are a lot of games, some tougher than others; we’ll watch the video and learn from it,” he said. “We have a tough team to face on Thursday, but this was a very frustrating game. We managed to fight our way back and tie it up and obviously, the basket at the end is very frustrating. But we have to deal with it and look at what we didn’t do well.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv will look to rebound in their next game when they visit Valencia on Thursday, a team currently holding a 4-1 record in Euroleague play.