The Israel State Cup week has arrived as the final four teams, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Jerusalem, Bnei Herzliya and Hapoel HaEmek will battle it out for the coveted trophy at Yad Eliyahu in Tel Aviv.

The Maccabi and Jerusalem Israeli Classico semifinal will take place on Sunday night while Herzliya and HaEmek will play in the second semifinal slated for Monday evening while the final will take place on Thursday.

HaEmek is playing in its first ever State Cup final four which is somewhat surprising as the Gan Ner based team has won the league championship and has featured in the league finals but somehow never was able to get to this stage of the tournament. However, Sharon Avrahami’s team was able to finish in the top 8 in league play and the got past Hapoel Holon to punch their ticket to the semifinals.

One of the reasons HaEmek, which had changed its name from Hapoel Gilboa Galil prior to the season, advanced to this stage of the State Cup is no doubt because of Elijah Childs. The 27-year old power forward out of Bradley University has been one of Avrahami’s key players since joining the club back in the middle of the 2024-25 season.

Just ahead of their huge clash for a ticket to the finals, Childs spoke to The Sports Rabbi about a myriad of topics as his club readies in earnest to continue to make history.

“It feels amazing to be a part of history,” Childs began. “It’s an honor first of all to be sharing it with the guys in the lockerroom and the staff, they’ve been doing an amazing job this year, so it feels amazing and we just want to get the job done, handle business and play to our full potential.

Getting past Holon was key for HaEmek to make it to the final four and even though the purples have been struggling it wasn’t automatic that they would neat them and continue on especially having lost in league play. Childs played a huge part in that game with a double digit performance, “It felt great, we felt like we owed them from last game, from them beating us, so it felt great to beat them and move on, but it’s just one game. You try to treat every game just as one game and it feels exciting to get the job done.”

Herzliya has had a superb campaign this season and will no doubt be a very difficult opponent, but truth be told the same is true of Hapoel Jerusalem and Maccabi Tel Aviv, “I’m looking forward to it, I think that’s going to maybe be a team we will play in the playoffs, so I’m definitely looking forward to it. Herzliya is in a good groove right now, they’ve been finding their groove and they got their guys playing well, they added some key players, so it’s going to be a great matchup and I’m a competitor, those bright lights and those big games, I’m ready for it. I’m excited just to step on that floor with my team and know that we have our guys too to match up well. I think we’re the better team anyway, so it’s going to be fun. Monday is going to be a tough match, it’s not going to be easy.”

Herzliya have stars in Chinanu Onuaku, Elijah Stewart and now DJ Burns and Childs will alsonbe tasked with stopping them, “I think I will definitely play a key factor offensively and defensively, but we just got to stay in the game plan. I think if we make it not a half court game and try to limit their touches with Onuaku, Stewart and Burns we will be in good shape but it’s going to be tough, it’s not easy and better said than done. But I think we got the guys to do it and I think our guys are better than their guys, so it’s going to be exciting.”

Should HaEmek get past Herzliya, Childs knows that they will not be favored in a final that will feature ether Maccabi or Jerusalem, “I think everybody sees us as underdogs but I also think nobody expected us to do what we’re doing now, but like I said, I like our guys matched up with anybody, so if it’s Jerusalem, it’s Jerusalem, if it’s Maccabi, it’s Maccabi. I’m a competitor and we got a lot of competitors on this team, so I’m very confident in the coaching staff and everybody that’s going to be stepping on that floor.”

Head Coach Sharon Avrahami has been a huge part of HaEmek’s success and he has been able to guide the club to some fine achievements and success which is something Child’s is appreciative of, “He brings us toughness, aggressiveness, energy so you know what you’re going to get from coach Sharon. He’s a simple guy, he allows you to play the game and brings a lot of confidence, I love Sharon. Sometimes he can be a little too animated, but that’s just a part of coaching and the of the ups and downs of the game, so I’m excited for the game plan that they’re going to be drawing up and I believe in it.”

Kyler Edwards is one of the offensive stars of the team and could very well be the league MVP as he joined HaEmek this season after playing with Netanya last season, “Kyler Edwards is the MVP. I’m saying it now, he’s definitely going to be the MVP. He makes the game simple, he makes it easy for me, I’m getting wide open shots because they’re doubling him or the defense is drawing so much attention to him, so it makes the game very easy for me. I think that’s why you see me doing so well, because Niv Misgav, Cameron Henry and Kyler Edwards make the game so easy for me, so I get wide open shots. my job is just to knock the shots down.”

Niv Misgav is one of the star guards of the league and HaEmek inked him during last season from Holon. He has become a favorite for Childs, “He’s another easy way to get some baskets. He puts you in position, he finds you, he tells you adjustments during the game, so like I said, the pieces we have and the type of guys we have in that lockerroom, I’m confident that we’re going to get the job done.”

Childs currently plays in the front court with newcomer Nick Ongenda who recently joined the team after Kadin Shedrick finished his season due to an injury. In addition, Aaron Wheeler is injured and his status for the semifinals is up in the air.

“First of all, speedy recovery for those guys, Aaron and Kadin, they are big pieces to the team. When Kadin went down, unfortunately, he was playing very good, I think he’s going to get back to where he was in no time. Aaron, like I said, speedy recovery for him. Nick is holding it down, he’s doing his thing, next man up mentality, he is doing a very good job, very athletic, rebound, block shots, dunking the ball, it’s the thing he’s doing. We needed that, so Nick filled the role perfectly.”

Childs began playing basketball fairly late in fact as a teenager, “I’m a late bloomer, I started playing when I was 15. I was into baseball, that was my thing. My father just came to me one day and was like, hey, you want to try this? I was like, all right. I was already tall, people were telling me ‘you should do this’. So I did it. I was a raw talent, but people worked with me and I fell in love with it. Once people tell you ‘you can really make a living at it’, you kind of go harder, so that’s what I did, and I’m here today.”

After four years at Bradley University, Childs began his professional career inn Italy with Trapani and then moved to Denmark and Bakken Bears where they played Hapoel Jerusalem in BCL action, “Jerusalem had Speedy Smith, Khadeen Carrington, Zach Hankins and Levi Randolph. They had a great squad and we had some great guys. I enjoyed it and took some very good memories from that, playing on that big stage, Champions League. It was very competitive and I fell in love with it. I’m trying to help this team I’m on right now, do it with the guys that we have, because we have a great group.

Gur Lavy was a teammate of Childs last season when he was named the Israel League MVP and then moved on to Maccabi Tel Aviv, “When I came to the team, he was a big help getting me adjusted, so I clicked with him. It was easy playing with him. I can cut off him, he could post up, shoot, another guy that made the game easy for me. Playing with him, I knew he was going to move up to Jerusalem, Maccabi, Hapoel, whatever it was going to be. I knew he was about to skyrocket for sure.”

Childs has enjoyed his time in Israel so far and loves so any of the country’s amazing aspects, “The weather, beach, food. I’m a simple type guy. Tel Aviv is amazing, Haifa, that’s where I spend most of my time. I just love it out here, it’s peaceful. Especially Afula is peaceful too, I’m in the north and everything is a little cheaper out here than Tel Aviv and Haifa, but I love it. It’s peaceful for me.”

When Childs arrived in Israel last season, the country was still in the midst of a war but that didn’t turn him off from deciding to ply his trade in the Holy Land, “I’m the type of guy that doesn’t watch too much, so if it’s really not affecting me personally I kind of don’t realize what’s going on. I wasn’t scared, coach Sharon and my agent did a good job of making sure I was secure and making sure I felt good about coming. So I wasn’t too much worried about anything.”

One of Childs favorite opponent happens to ironically be Hapoel Jerusalem guard Cassius Winston, “We played him in March Madness and he got us out of there. He was just chilling the first half, we were doing our thing, ups and downs of the game, the runs they went on and we went on. It was the second half, around like eight minutes to go and he kicked it into gear and finished with like 25 and 10. I’ll never forget that. First round of March Madness, when he was at Michigan State, he got us out of there. I was like, yeah, he’s cold. That’s the only player I’ll say, Cassius Winston. That’s that guy for sure. I don’t really like giving players too much credit. I’m a competitor. I’d rather go against you, but not him for sure.”

Childs, who has a twin brother is a very simple person he explained but he does have some unique hobbies, “I’m a simple guy, but I think people don’t know that I love architecture. I wanted to be an architect before basketball. I just like looking at it, seeing the process of people building things, stuff online. If there’s an event, I definitely would love to go to it, for sure.”

As he continues to climb the ladder of success in Israel, Childs knows that he will have options if he wants to take the next step in his career with one of the three teams in the top European competitions in Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Jerusalem which is also his dream.

“It just depends. Right situation, right contract, everything just has to be right. But for sure, who wouldn’t want to play for them? That’s EuroLeague, EuroCup, the next step. That’s the biggest stage. If you love what you do, you love being a competitor and you want to travel the world playing on the big stages, you want to go there. Your goal is to go there, and that’s one of my goals. That’s what I’m working towards right now. So, of course I’d love to go play. But if I could help this organization go there too, I would definitely stay here. I love it here. They treat me very well, very good hospitality, professionalism, everything.”

As for goals for the balance of the season, Childs wants to take it all in and win it all, “Just finish strong. That’s the first goal for sure. We want to win every game, but just finish strong and the goal is make it to the playoffs for sure. We want to win the Cup first, but the ultimate goal, I think, for everybody, is to make it to the playoffs. Definitely just finish strong, treat every game well and try to get better every game.”