Nicolas Batum revealed his admiration for Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, while running a Q&A session with the fans on Twitter.

Maccabi Tel Aviv has reached an agreement with the 47-year-old Israeli head coach Oded Kattash, sources confirmed to BasketNews.

Although Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv have reportedly shown strong interest in signing Xavi Pascual, new reports indicate that the pursuit has come to an end.

The loss of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv's last week was a very painful moment for the yellow club. Maccabi lost a series of the best of 3 in the Israel league semifinals for the first time in its history and will not lift the championship trophy this season. The one who took the matter seriously, was the Yellows Coach Avi Even. There were all the reasons to end that evening alone and think about what just happened, but the day didn‘t end like that to him.

On Wednesday night, Maccabi Tel Aviv's season ended somberly, losing by 22 points, their worst defeat ever in the Winner League playoffs, against Bnei Herzliya in the decisive Game 3 of the semifinal.

Croatian big man Ante Zizic and the Turkish powerhouse Anadolu Efes are on the verge of completing a deal, sources told BasketNews and Moses Barda of One.

Xavi Pascual could become the highest-paid head coach outside the EuroLeague.

Israeli champions Maccabi Tel Aviv will not have the chance to defend their title.

Xavi Pascual is the No. 1 candidate for Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, but he is under contract with Zenit Saint Petersburg for two more years, according to George Zakkas from SDNA.gr.

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv kicked off the Israeli League semifinals by taking down Bnei Herzliya in Game 1, 82-76 (25-23, 16-22, 28-17, 13-14).

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv defeated their archrivals Hapoel Tel Aviv and won the quarterfinal series yesterday.

In Game 4 of the Israeli league's quarterfinals series, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv  in a hard battle on the court. After a thrilling ending, Maccabi won with the final score of 82-77 (11-22, 24-21, 20-10, 27-24) and advanced to the semifinals where they will play against Bnei Herzeliya Basket.

Hapoel Tel Aviv crushed Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 93-75 (25-18, 25-23, 28-14, 15-20) at Menora Mivtachim Arena and softened the best-of-five quarterfinals series to 1-2.

Hapoel spurted 9-0 in the mid-first quarter and gained a tangible 8-point lead. After another run in the second tally, Hapoel's advantage marked 17 points (45-28).

Even though Maccabi came within 5 (47-52) at the start of the third period, Hapoel responded with a 20-3 push and never looked back (69-48).

Bar Timor was outstanding for the winners, accumulating 26 points (3/4, 6/7 3PT, 2/4 FT), 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 turnovers, and 35 PIR.

John DiBartolomeu had 18 points (1/1 2PT, 4/6 3PT, 4/6 FT), 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 turnover, and 15 PIR for the losing side.

Hapoel: Bar Timor 26 (5 REB, 6 AST), JP Tokoto 18 (5 REB), Idan Zalmanson 15, Josh Owens 10 (6 REB).

Maccabi: John DiBartolomeu 18, Keenan Evans 12 (5 AST), James Nunnally 12. 

American big man Alex Tyus is one of the veterans of European basketball. At 34, he has already achieved some great goals in his career but the majority of his great moments in European basketball are linked to Maccabi Tel Aviv. With the Israeli powerhouse, he won a EuroLeague title back in 2014 and three Israeli league championships. 

This season, Tyus is playing in Turkey for Pinar Karsiyaka but in an interview with the Israeli website 'Israel Hayom' he didn't hide the fact that he would love to play again for Maccabi Tel Aviv. 

"The only team that I'd play for in Israel is Maccabi Tel Aviv", Tyus stated. "I don't see myself returning to Israel if it's not there. If Maccabi calls, I'd be happy to come". 

Tyus has also an Israeli passport, which always makes him more attractive in the local market for the Israeli teams. 

"There have been some talks in recent years about a potential return to Maccabi but in the end, it didn't work out", Tyus continued. "I'd love to return and finish my career in Tel Aviv, but even if I won't return, I'll always have good memories of my time there. The best moments in my career were with Maccabi". 

Tyus talked about the beautiful atmosphere of the club and the amazing support that he received from the fans. 

"At Maccabi, everything is been taken care of", Tyus explained. "The conduct of the club is amazing and as a player, you only need to concentrate on basketball. You are always paid on time and the fans are amazing, they always create an atmosphere that pushes you to give the best".

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv 93-86 (24-18, 26-18, 21-29, 22-21) in a hard battle on the court to take a 2-0 lead in the Israeli league's quarterfinals series. Maccabi will try to close the series on Wednesday.

Roman Sorkin led Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv with 20 points (7/11 2PT, 6/8 FT), 9 rebounds and 22 PIR.

Scottie Wilbekin aided him with 18 points (0/5 2PT, 4/11 3PT, 6/6 FT), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 20 PIR.

On the opposing side, J'Covan Brown was the high-scorer for Hapoel Tel Aviv, ending with 26 points (4/8 2PT, 4/11 3 PT, 6/6 FT), 7 assists and 22 PIR.

Bar Timor made a 2-pointer and reduced the deficit to 4 points (77-81) with 3:17 left. Both teams exchanged multiple successful possesions until Maccabi stopped the essential opponents‘ attack, Keenan Evans made a pair of free throws to build more solid lead (89-83) with 38 seconds left.

J‘Cowan Brown answered with a triple (86-89), but Oz Blayzer sank both shots from the charity stripe and the Israeli champs won with the final score of 93-86.

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv needed an excellent game on the offensive end to overcome Hapoel Tel Aviv 100-88 (28-25, 20-24, 27-23, 25-16) in Game 1 of the Israeli league's quarterfinals series.

After losing in the previous three derbies this season, the champions started their journey towards a fifth consecutive championship on the right foot in a best-of-five series. Game 2 will be held on Sunday at the Shlomo Team Hall.

Scottie Wilbekin scored 31 points on 8/19 from the field, while Keenan Evans added 18 and Derrick Williams another 14 for the winners.

Avi Even did not register Ante Zizic, Kyrie Thomas and Angelo Caloiaro for the series, as it is not possible to make roster changes from game to game in the series. Maccabi reached the quarterfinals from second place in the table, after finishing the season with a balance of 18-9. Their city rival closed the campaign in seventh place with 14 wins and 13 losses.

Hapoel were paced by Bar Timor's 18 points, while also having another four players in double digits.