Oded Kattash criticizes referees after Game 5 defeat, points at crazy number / News - Basketnews.com

Oded Kattash highlighted disparities in free throws: "Maccabi showed more respect to basketball and the EuroLeague throughout the series than some of the people that were on the court tonight."

Credit: Partizan Mozzart Bet/Dragana Stjepanovic Credit Partizan Mozzart Bet/Dragana Stjepanovic

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv couldn't break the Game 5 curse, with no EuroLeague away team managing to clinch the series in the final match on foreign turf. The Israeli powerhouse faced an 81-72 defeat against Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens in Game 5.

Player of the Game EFF 27 Kendrick Nunn Points 26 Accuracy 8-17 Rebounds 5 Assists 4

However, head coach Oded Kattash primarily attributed this loss to the referees.

Speaking at the post-game conference, Kattash expressed pride in his players but pointed out issues beyond basketball's realm influencing the outcome.

"I am really proud of the players. For me, this group of guys is real champions. Coming to this game, we knew it was not going to be easy, but there were some things behind basketball," he noted. "I wish this series would be better decided by the players and basketball.

"We never talked about the referees throughout the series, even our opponent did, but maybe we should [now]," Kattash went on to say. "No way in Game 5, in a very physical game by both sides -- if I take out the last four shots of Lorenzo Brown -- it was 35-6 in free throws. Maybe that's a coincidence, but that's a crazy number.

"We, as a club -- players and coaches -- showed more respect to basketball and to the EuroLeague throughout the series than some of the people that were on the court tonight."

Kattash also hinted at the officiating while talking to EuroLeague TV just after the game finished: "We knew we needed to be up by 15 to win by 1 point. I think everyone saw what happened in the second half."

Panathinaikos attempted 35 free throws in Game 5, while Maccabi only managed 10 shots from the charity stripe.

The contentious issue of officiating had surfaced earlier in the series, with PAO also raising complaints about the referees' performance in Game 1.

Game 5 highlights:

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