As the 2022-23 Winner League season draws to a close this week, on Sunday morning, Winner League Management and Toto-Winner, the Winner League’s principal sponsor, held a joint press conference at Toto-Winner’s offices in Petah Tikvah, to celebrate the season that was.

At the press conference, Shlomi Peri, CEO of the Winner League Management, Meir Bardugo, CEO of Toto-Winner and Ari Steinberg, Chairman of the Winner League Management, spoke. The press conference put emphasis not only on the positives from the 2022-23 season and what needs to be improved for next season, but also on calls to focus on the game itself rather than off-court controversies – of which we have unfortunately had too much in the Tel Aviv derby final series.

Shlomi Peri, began the press conference: “Season 2022-23 of the Winner League was fascinating. We know that there were quite a few regrettable incidents off the court, but on the court, there was good and competitive basketball and that is the important thing really. The things that happened we will deal with so that they won’t happen again and we hope that next season we will focus only on basketball and less on those other things.”

Of the competitiveness of the League, Perry noted: “Forty-one games in the regular season finished with a differential of 5 or less points. That’s 25% of the games. Of them, 11 games finished in overtime.

“Six different teams have taken part in the finals of the playoffs in the last four seasons: Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Hapoel Holon, Bnei Herzliya, Gilboa Galil and Maccabi Rishon Letzion. This shows that we have a very competitive league and that’s important.”

“We are happy to host you today here at the Toto office on the eve of the second game of the finals series of the 2022-23 Winner League season,” Bardugo said. “I don’t think that it’s excessive to say that the 22-23 season is one of the most successful seasons that we’ve had in recent decades in Israeli basketball. The best way to express it is not only with the dramas that have happened almost weekly over the course of the season, but mainly in the happy and filled stands.

“However, here I want to place a big ‘but’ – there’s a difference between happy and colorful stands expressing big love for sport to those fans who bring ugly violence, vandalism and provocation. This isn’t love for sport – they are mishaps in sport, which endanger fans, children and sponsors, who bring new money to the League. I want to take this opportunity to call for fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv tonight to focus on the love of sport, on the love of the game and not on hate, antagonism and G-d forbid violence.”

Bardugo also took the opportunity to make a case for extending the semifinal and final series, which are current best of three games, as opposed to the quarterfinal series which are best of five games: “Semifinal series and final series must be best of five series. It’s best for the sport and best for the fans.”

“We are in the midst of the peak of the season after a truly fascinating basketball season,” Steinberg said. “It wasn’t an easy week for basketball fans, including for myself. This isn’t how we wanted to celebrate the final series, but this is the reality. I promise that I will not let everything that happened over the last week subside. I will draw the necessary conclusions and we will work to change the regulations accordingly, in order to prevent a repeat of situations such as this to occur in the future.”

“There is no doubt that our League is not perfect, maybe even far from it,” Steinberg, who started his role as Chairman earlier this year, continued. “It probably won’t be perfect either, because everyone has their own opinon and that’s ok. I came here in order to change things. To change, I need and I will demand more powers for the Management and for the Chairman especially. I am sure that this will happen with the support of all teams, who understand the need for someone to make decisions and to lead the League to a higher place without impediments.”

Steinberg also gave thanks to Culture and Sports Minister, Miki Zohar, as well as Toto – including Bardugo – for their continued support for the League.

Responding to a question regarding the length of finals series, Steinberg agreed with the need to extend series: “I will already try now to change the semifinal and final series to a best of five games. IT can provide a significant happening, where each game will give its own drama – and that’s what we need in the League, more interest, which will bring the fans and sponsors.”

The League has a lot to focus on before one of the teams lifts the trophy this week. While it is clear that there’s a lot of work to be done in the offseason, Steinberg is clearly determined to do his best to get things in order for the start of the 2023-24 season.