The Maccabi reserve scored 9 of his career-high 13 points in the first quarter.
Rafi Menco’s career night propelled Maccabi
Article
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 11 of 34
Group Regular Season
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A bunch of the usual suspects took center stage as Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv bounced back from a 29-point mauling against Real Madrid by downing ALBA Berlin 102-81 (meaning they enjoyed a 50-point swing in the space of two days) in Belgrade on Thursday.
Wade Baldwin, getting very much back to his best after missing the start of the season through injury, topped the winning team’s scorers with 18 points and also dished 6 assists – as did his backcourt running mate, Lorenzo Brown.
Another key role was taken by Bonzie Colson with 17 points, while Roman Sorkin stepped up in the paint in the absence of Josh Nebo, scoring 10 points and adding 2 blocked shots.
But there was also a central role for one less familiar figure. Rafi Menco came into the game averaging just 0.9 points, with no more than nine minutes played, two baskets scored or 2 rebounds taken in any of his previous seven appearances of the campaign.
On Thursday night, the 29-year-old forward – in his second season with the club and making his 38th appearance in the competition – blew all those statistics out of the water with a performance that may well give head coach Oded Kattash some food for thought in the coming weeks.
Menco started as he meant to continue, knocking down a trio of three-pointers in just 99 seconds at the end of the first quarter, sending Maccabi into a double-digit lead for the first time and clearing the path for a comfortable victory. And he wasn’t finished there, returning at regular intervals to give solid contributions all over the floor, adding a couple of two-point scores in the final period.
That allowed Menco to finish the game with career highs in practically every statistical category: 22:16 minutes, 13 points, 5 rebounds and a PIR of 10 were all personal bests, as were his 3 triples scored and 4 defensive boards grabbed.
"Rafi was good," said coach Kattash after the game. "It's not easy to be in his situation, but he got his chance and I'm so happy for him. He scored three triples in a row, helping us make our first run in the game."
"It was important for us to get back to winning after what happened in the last game," said Menco. "When I am called to play, I try to do my best and I am glad it worked out today. I hope it will be like this in the future, too."
It remains to be seen whether Menco will use this performance as a springboard towards consistently becoming a key performer for Maccabi, but he certainly enjoyed his spell in the sun and can look ahead to next week’s double-header on the road at ASVEL and Virtus with self-belief boosted like never before.
Game Videos
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McCormack's alley-oop dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
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Schneider's poster dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
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Procida's huge dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
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Hoard's reverse alley-oop dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
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Milos Magic! Motorola Magic Moment
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Procida's big block! Motorola Magic Moment
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Lee wins it! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
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