The Israel National Basketball Team will begin the first and crucial window of the second stage of the World Cup Qualifiers on Thursday, 21:00 (Israel time) when it will play a home away from home game against Poland in Riga. It will then face the host nation Latvia on the road on Sunday (19:00 Israel time). Israel comes into this stage with a 2-4 record from which was carried forward from the first group stage, which is 6th and last place in Group K.

Just before the team attempts to keep its World Cup hopes alive, national team and Hapoel Jerusalem power forward Yotam Hanochi (25, 2.04 meters) spoke with The Sports Rabbi about the upcoming challenge along with his club team and of course his dear friend Raz Adam z”l who passed away in a car accident this past year.

“It’s very exciting,” Hanochi began. “We’ve been really looking forward to these games and to make up for what happened in the previous window. It’s always fun and exciting to be with the Israel national team.”

Hanochi has become a regular presence during the recent national team windows under Head Coach Ariel Beit Halachmi, who has worked with him since their days together at Hapoel Gilboa/Galil and with the Israel U20 National Team.

“It’s very gratifying. It’s something I’ve wanted for a long time and worked very hard for. It’s something that is a very, very central goal of my career.”

For the first time in years, the national team will have its two top point guards, Yam Madar and Tamir Blatt, playing together on the court which is something exciting for Hanochi, “There’s no doubt that it gives us a lot of options. They are the two best point guards in our basketball and I’m very, very happy and enjoy playing alongside them. I believe it will also show results.”
In the final window of the first stage of the World Cup Qualifiers, Israel arrived with a depleted roster and suffered difficult losses to Germany and Croatia. Hanochi, who was one of the players who did report for national team duty, reflected on that tough stretch.

“There’s no doubt that the atmosphere around that window was very rough. As players, we did our best and focused on what we could control, trying every day to keep ourselves focused, but there’s no doubt that there was a very negative feeling surrounding that window. It’s our responsibility to now correct that.”

Late last season, Hanochi moved from Maccabi Raanana to Hapoel Jerusalem, signing a 2.5 year contract with the capital city reds, “I’m very happy. It’s a very, very good and very professional organization, a place at the level I’ve wanted to be at for a long time. The people are very, very good and very serious and it’s a club with ambitions to win titles and move forward. That’s exactly what I want from myself as a player, so the adjustment has been good and I’m really looking forward to and excited about the start of the season.”

This summer, Jerusalem signed one of Europe’s top coaches, Serbian Sasa Obradovic, who previously led Monaco to the EuroLeague Final Four. Hanochi is excited about the opportunity to play under the club’s new tactician.

“I’m really looking forward to working with him. I’m really waiting for that. I’ll give everything I have during this window with the national team. I really hope we win and get the job done, and afterward I’ll be fully focused on Hapoel Jerusalem.”

Jerusalem also brought in several high-level foreign players this summer and Hanochi is looking forward to competing with them, “I think at this level there are a lot of good players on the team and that’s how it should be. That’s part of the competition I’m looking forward to. At the end of the day, we’re a team, and we’ll need to win together and be together. That’s what will matter to me throughout the entire season and I’m looking forward to it.”

Last season, basketball itself was put into perspective for Israeli fans when Raz Adam, one of the country’s prominent Israeli players, passed away following a tragic car accident. Hanochi, who played alongside the late Adam on Israel’s national teams, most notably the U20 team that won the European Championship held in Israel in 2019, shared his memories.

“I was with Raz in the youth teams and with the U20 team. It was very difficult and it still hurts to this day. It’s a tremendous sadness. He was truly an amazing person, funny, sharp and witty. I always had great conversations with him and really enjoyed his company, meeting him during the summers, at games and with the national teams. There are truly no words that can describe or contain the pain. I love him very much and I miss him.”