Hapoel Gilboa Galil returns to continental competition as they will begin their FIBA Europe Cup journey on Wednesday when they travel to Reggio Emilia to face Reggiana in Italy on Gameday One.

The Galilee club will look to do the same that Nes Ziona was able to accomplish last season when they won the prestigious title this past April in Tel Aviv. While the competition will be stiff for Guy Kaplan’s squad in a group with Zaragoza from Spain, Avtodor Saratov from Russia and Reggiana, Israeli teams in the past have proven that nothing is impossible and that they will bring their “A” game to Europe.

One of the players who will try and cause some problems for Gilboa will be a familiar face in Bryant Crawford who now plays in Italy after featuring in Gan Ner in his first season as a professional.

The Sports Rabbi had a chat with Crawford who has also played in Lithuania about his time in the Holy Land, how he has developed over the past few years as well as his goals and his new club in Italy.

“I’m loving playing for the team. We all get along well, stick together as one unit and compete daily,” Crawford said.

Having an opportunity to play against one’s former club is always exciting and a challenge for any professional athlete as they want to show them what they may have missed out on.

“It will be nice to play against them I had many good memories with Gilboa and it’s where I started my professional career so it’s a place I’ll never forget. We didn’t have a good year as a team as far as winning but we did beat Maccabi Tel Aviv that year in Gilboa. That was an exciting one for sure.”

Most players who come out to ply their trade in the Holy Land usually enjoy themselves and that as certainly the case for the Wake Forest product, “I met some cool people while I was out there and built some great friendships that I still have today.”

For the two seasons following his time in Israel the point guard headed to Juventus in Lithuania where he continued to hone his trade as he averaged over 11 points and 4 assists a game in running the offense.

“Lithuania is where I can say I learned how to play more of the “Europe” style of basketball. Slowing the game down making the smart play, making every possession count and just understanding what’s going on every moment of the game.”

As for goals heading in to the season, Crawford looks at being able to help the team’s common goal which is to of course win, “Personally I want to keep learning as much as I can daily from my teammates and coaches not only for my personal success but for the success of our team! Winning is most important to me and that’s the goal that I have for our team just to keep competing and making each other better daily so that we’re prepared when we meet our opponents.”