“It’s unbelievable that the Championships are here in Israel” Yair Kravets ahead of U20 European Championships, Amare Update, Maccabi Haifa readies for Mura! Israel Sports Rabbi Rundown July 10, 2019

Jul 10, 2019 | Holyland Hoops

As we head into the Under-20 European Basketball Championships, The Sports Rabbi will have an interview a day with some of the players on the team. Today Yair Kravets from Hapoel Beer Sheva joins us to talk about the competition and his young career to date:

“It’s an amazing feeling and the fact that the European Championships are here is something really unbelievable.”

Dov Halickman Photography


Pressure to perform at home?
“I don’t believe that it’s pressure but something that we can take to the right place. We have to take advantage of our fans and use it to the best of our abilities.”

Being one of the top division players:
“First off I will bring my leaderships skills to the team and I will be able to bring the whole team together. We have to be one unit just like how the coach wants us to, as a team. We may not be the tallest team or the most talented but if we play together we can do some good things. “

Dov Halickman Photography


About the coach:
“Ariel Beit Halachmi is not just a basketball coach but someone who we can learn life skills from. He is our leader and teaches us how to really play as one.”

Dov Halickman Photography


Ariel Beit Halachmi addressed the media ahead of the Under-20 European Championships that are being played in Tel Aviv, “I’m always an optimist and we have a terrific squad. Our preparations were very, very good and we reached our peak of our preparations against Spain.”

The Group:
“There are some very strong teams in our group as well as the other groups and every game will be important. But the 4th game will be crucial and we want to finish as well as possible in order to make sure that we play a more favorable opponent in that game.”

The first game against Serbia:
“Serbia has quality at every age group but we are a good national team and we don’t need to look at the names of the teams that we are playing against. We can win and we can lose, but our home fans can make the difference with their energy and passion.”

Maccabi Haifa Website


Maccabi Haifa Head Coach Marko Balbul looked ahead to Thursday’s Europa League first leg first round qualifier against Mura from Slovenia at 20:00 at Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa, “We will continue with how we set up the club last season which is with youngsters. Our training camp was terrific and we are ready to face Mura. We are all excited to play our first official match.”

About Mura:
“Mura is a very organized team both tactically and physically. We saw them play a couple of friendlies but our goal is to press them from the start and win our home match. We know what their strong points are and they have an excellent midfield and a good striker. We will be prepared for them and will play our style of football. I believe that this is the way for us to win the contest.”

Dov Halickman Photography



There’s a brand new SPORTS RABBI SHOW! Ben Eisenhardt Unplugged & Dan Shamir Update with Michael O’Keeffe in Auckland! Eisenhardt will be with Beer Sheva for the 19/20 season as he talks roundball & a lot more while O’Keeffe breaks down the Breakers coaching situation!


Amare Stoudemire is trying to latch on with an NBA team and was interviewed on MSG Network, ”Leadership goes a long way with teams in order to get from a playoff team to a contending championship team. From that standpoint, I have a lot to offer.”

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