Wade Baldwin: 'I'll play on Thursday' / News - Basketnews.com

Baldwin seemed to have pulled his hamstring in the fourth quarter but he assured he would be ready for Game 2 despite exiting the game early.

Credit: /IPA/SIPA - Scanpix Credit /IPA/SIPA - Scanpix

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv stunned the legendary OAKA after earning a crucial victory in Game 1 of the EuroLeague playoff series against Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens. However, Wade Baldwin IV did not finish the game due to injury.

The superstar guard seems to have pulled his hamstring after a drive against Mathias Lessort in the early fourth quarter. He did not return to the game.

Talking after the match, the player assured the media he would be ready for Game 2 despite the worrying exit.

"I feel good and I'll play on Thursday. An injury won't stop me at this stage," Baldwin told Tomer Givati from Israel Hayom. "We found a way to win the first game on a difficult home court. Everyone on the team played well, and we managed to get the first victory in the series."

"We've been in great shape as a team for the last two months, and it was a very big win to open the playoffs with, but we still need to win two more games," Baldwin said. "We were in the same situation exactly a year ago in Monaco, and we ended up losing the series. We did the job in the first game, and now we have to prepare and try to get another win."

Head coach Oded Kattash didn't seem too concerned after the match either.

"I hope Wade's situation, Wade's injury is not that bad because he's crucial for us," Kattash said in the post-game press conference. "I feel like even though it's a big win for us, we have a lot of things to improve on both sides of the floor."

Game 2 of the series is scheduled for 20:15 CET on Thursday, April 25th. So far in the new-format EuroLeague, no 7th-seeded team has managed to win a playoff series.

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