The wait is over. It looks like professional sports in Israel are relatively back to normal, with the exception of fans at venues. Winner League games are back on TV and we have gotten back into a basic routine as a team. Although we are living and playing under different circumstances, this is the most normal life has felt since we went into lockdown in September. Hopefully we stay trending in this direction so that we can compete and get through the season.

Last week was pretty eventful as we got in our media day and returned to competition against other teams. We began the week with a trip to Ramat Gan to participate in the FIBA 3X3 competitions. The National League had its teams enter FIBA 3X3 so that we could return to practice during the lockdown. We are hosting the next session in Kiryat Ata this week, so it will be fun to take part in something different again for a change. The next day we traveled to Afula for our first scrimmage since the lockdown began. We then hosted Motzkin two days later for another preseason tune-up.

Most recently, we took on Be’er Sheva at home in the Israeli Basketball League Cup. We battled through three quarters before they eventually pulled away at the end. Despite the loss, it was good to go up against some First Division competition and match up with my guy, Spencer Weisz. Next up, we have one last scrimmage against Afula on Thursday. Our first regular season game is scheduled for November 17th in Ramat Gan. If all goes well, only a few more days until we get this thing started.

So there you have it, almost three months after we flew out here, we’ll be getting down to business, pending no COVID-19 stoppages. It’s been a long preseason, but well worth the wait. After seeing the game taken from so many all across the world, we’re just blessed to be able to compete, especially at the professional level. Hopefully on the 17th we’ll be tipping off for real, more than eight months to the day that our last seasons were put to a halt, and in many cases, to an end. T-1 Week,

Geoff