Carrying a 17-game win streak, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv will head to Barcelona on Thursday for the last road game of the regular season (9:30 PM Israel time, 2:30 PM ET). The yellows still eye an automatic spot in the EuroLeague playoffs as the 6th seed, and will have to prevail in Palau Blaugrana to keep those hopes alive.

"We are aware that we face a game at the highest quality that Europe has to offer, and it is going to be challenging and complicated", stated head coach Oded Kattash. "To earn a good result, we will need to play a near-perfect game. Regardless of other games' results, we want to go out and win, because it's an important game for us".



Barca are coming from the 4th spot in the standings, with a 21-11 record - same as Panathinaikos and Monaco above them. This means coach Roger Grimau and his team have a lot to play for with the playoffs in sight.

The Catalans won the previous encounter in Belgrade after a close fight, 92-90. They boast a squad rich with top level players, including Jan Vesely, Nicolas Laprovitola, Jabari Parker, Willy Hernangomez, Tomas Satoransky and Nikola Kalinic, to name a few. If that's not enough, Barcelona recently brought back former NBA star Ricky Rubio.

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv fought until the very end in Barcelona, but could not extend the win streak. After 17 victories in a row, the yellows fell 89-92 in Catalonia and will finish the season in 7th place. That means Maccabi will have to go through the play-in to reach the playoffs, with the opponent yet to be decided.

The yellow gang had a very good performance in the Palau Blaugrana, where Barca dropped only two games all season. At one point in the first half, Oded Kattash's men even led by 10 points. But it was a tight contest that went down to the wire, and a crushing three pointer by Nicolas Laprovittola with 5 seconds left settled the score.



"At the end of the day it came to the last play", coach Oded Kattash said after the game. "It was a big play by a big player. We had our chances. We came back to the game a couple times with different lineups. I am proud of the way we played and we have to learn from those experiences. I feel bad for the players, they really wanted to win".

Wade Baldwin was once again the main protagonist for the Israeli champions with 22 points, including a typical jumper with 27 seconds to go that tied the game up. Josh Nebo had 14 points and 9 rebounds while John DiBartolomeo provided 12.

The Maccabees have one more regular season game left to play, next week against Milano in Belgrade. But before then, Maccabi will host two Israeli league conests: against Herzliya on Sunday and against Ness Ziona on Tuesday.