The Israel Women’s Basketball League is continuing to turn heads as the Sabras both newcomers and veterans are making their mark across the board without having any foreign players in the league. Whether it’s 18-year old Hodaya Kabada, 22-year old Gili Eisner, 21-year old Shani Berman or 35-year old Nofar Shalom fans of the women’s game have been in for a treat over the first few weeks of the season.

So many Sabras have raised the level of their game with the added opportunities due to the extra minutes freed up by the imports, it’s been an absolute thrill to witness which players are grabbing the bull by the horns and making their impact be felt on the court of play.

At a recent game between Maccabi Ramat Gan and Hapoel Lev Jerusalem, those young guns were front and center for both teams throughout the 40 minutes of play.

Two of those youngsters, Hodaya Kabeda for Jerusalem and Shani Berman of Ramat Gan started the game with an old fashioned shootout as each scored 11 points in the first quarter, but veteran Nofar Shalom was the difference maker to give the visitors a 19-16 lead after ten minutes of play. Kabeda kept scoring for the hosts while Gili Eisner and 20-year old Alis Hatokay countered for Roie Lazar’s team but Shir Tirosh and Alex Cohen who have seen one or two things in the Israeli basketball scene helped the Limor Pelleg’s squad tie the game up at 32-32 at halftime.

Tirosh and Cohen were up to their old tricks in the third quarter while Eisner and Hatokay did the same but Kabeda went from deep and Cohen put in a layup to give Jerusalem a 52-48 lead after thirty minutes of action. However, Drew Edelman who had just arrived from the United States began to put her mark on the game for Ramat Gan as they went in front while Tirosh kept Jerusalem close but back-to-back killer 3’s by Berman and a Hatokay layup polished the win off for Lazar’s squad.

Eisner with 15 points finished the game just one rebound short from a triple-double, Berman who is making the most of her recent chances went 5/7 from beyond the arc for 17 points including a pair of triples late to salt away the game, Hatokay scored 15 points while veteran Shalom added 12 points while grabbing 8 boards and dishing out 8 assists for Ramat Gan.

Over for the Reds Kabada checked in with 25 points going 6/10 from deep while veteran Cohen who will be returning to the United States due to personal issues and the war scored 12 points and snatched 19 rebounds in the loss.

Being able to see the future now was what was most impressive on this night as Berman, a relative unknown who has played sparingly for the Israel Youth National Teams and is also part of the country’s 3×3 earned praise from her coach and teammate.

“Shani was great and she is playing hurt,” Head coach Roie Lazar explained. “She hasn’t been able to practice regularly and the therapist kept telling me to substitute her out when I can. This is her third season with the team and it’s time for her to take the next step. She began the season really well and hit a pair of 3-pointers in money time as well and has given us three slight incredible games and I hope that she will continue this way.”

“I think that we are playing together with a lot of energy and it makes us a better team,” Berman herself said. “Every time that I have a chance I will take it and I don’t force my shots. I like that I am a versatile player and one that is there for the team.”

Gili Eisner echoed the bench boss’s thoughts, “Shani came in and hit the most important shots of the game and she also started the game really well with 3’s. She has a lot of confidence and we trust her. It’s great that she was able to really come through.”

Eisner, who has continuously moved up the ranks of the National Team program as well as being the center piece of a number of league teams already at the age of just 22, continued to take the next steps in becoming one of the top Israelis who will lead the sport in this country over the next decade plus.

Lazar spoke about Eisner’s contribution including a statistic that she would very much like to clean up, “Gili almost had a quadruple-double with her turnovers! But the truth is I didn’t even know that she was close and if I did I wouldn’t have taken her out at the end of the game. I asked her for forgiveness. She is a very intelligent, glue player and she just makes everyone around her better.”

Eisner also commented about the game itself, “It wasn’t an easy game and Jerusalem is a good team. There were momentum swings all game but we stuck to our game plan and pulled out the win. I didn’t know that I was close and they told me after the game. I’m happy that I can help the team and I’ll do everything that I can to help us win.”

Over on the Jerusalem side, head coach Limor Pelleg is losing Alex Cohen who is heading back to America and is still looking to get back both Alyssa Baron and Noor Cayuf from injury. However, despite that, she has been able to see a player in Hoadya Kabada developing right before her very eyes while staying in the game against all odds due to a major depth problem.

“We lasted three quarters which is a step up after we played well for two quarters last game. The players got tired by the end of the game because we are really short, but it just shows you that we have a lot of talent and if one player is out another will step up. Now we earned another player (Kabada) for the next game. But getting our injured players back will be key. Two of our best players and their experience, we need that and as much as they are young and talented, experience as you saw in this game is more than anything. “

Ramat Gan is a club that has a deep youth system and has been able to churn out players for the National Team program which is something that Pelleg very much wants to do, “Not only do I want to see the players do well but I believe that they will one day be national team players. Our guards are very talented whether it’s Shir Tirosh, Noor Kayuf and Hodaya Kabada and I have no doubt that in a year they will be there, they just need playing time.”

When Jerusalem built their team before the season with a pair of imports they were hoping to make a splash, some noise and compete for the title. While the war flipped the cards up in the air for the Reds, Ramat Gan does have a team that can that can battle for the top spot according to Lazar.

“I know that people are afraid of the word championship, but I am not. I have always explained to the team that the goal is to win the championship. I know that Ramle is strong, Eden Zippel will be back at Rishon and will give them a boost and I also hear rumors that Alysha Clark will be heading to Ashdod, but still our goal is to win the title. However, it’s still early and we have to work hard and go step by step with one win after the next to get to the Final Four and once we get there if we get there anything can happen, but to answer the question the goal is to win the championship.”

Eisner spoke about how the team has been jelling as a unit which can be a catalyst going forward in order to win it all, “I think we are a team that had a lot of chemistry and we are there for one another which is important. We showed just that at the end of this game.”

However, Berman perhaps said it best of all, “I believe that we can win the title, we have enough talent. We want it.”