JERUSALEM, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Israeli basketball champions Maccabi Tel Aviv beat Serbian Red Star Belgrade 84-69 after overtime in the third round of the Euroleague on Thursday.
The Israeli hosts achieved their first victory so far, coming off away defeats against Khimki Moscow and Real Madrid. For Red Star it was the second loss in the tournament.
11,000 fans at the Menorah Mivtachim Arena in the coastal city of Tel Aviv saw a 67-67 tie after 40 minutes. However, Maccabi controlled the 5-minute overtime to secure the win.
Maccabi's shooting guard Scottie Wilbekin scored a team-high 16 points. His teammate Omri Casspi added 15 points and 8 rebounds, on his first game in Maccabi's home arena after 10 years in the NBA. Point guard Nate Wolters logged 15 points and 4 rebounds.
Greek forward Stratos Perperoglou led Red Star scorers with 18 points, along with 5 rebounds. His teammate Ognjen Dobric added 10 points.
Ahead of the game, a ceremony was held, marking the 80th birthday of Shimon Mizrahi, Maccabi's chairman for the past 50 years.
The ceremony was attended by Israel's President Reuven Rivlin and the club's past stars.
Maccabi will play their next game in Israel against Spain's Valencia Basket, while Red Star will host Barcelona - with both games to be played on October 24th.
