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Tal Brody and Miki Berkowitz – Photo Credit: Maccabi Tel Aviv<\/p><\/div>\n
January: Maccabi Tel Aviv\u2019s visit to The Iris Smith World Jewish Sports Museum at Kfar Maccabiah<\/strong><\/p>\n The Iris Smith World Jewish Sports Museum at Kfar Maccabiah, which opened in 2022, hosted the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team for an intimate tour in January<\/a>. The Museum presents to visitors the unique and exciting story of Jewish, Zionist and Israeli sports from the 19th century until today.<\/p>\n The highlights of the tour included Tal Brody and Miki Berkovitch holding a replica of Maccabi\u2019s maiden European Championship in 1977 (which of course put us \u201con the map\u201d) and listening to David Blatt (who lifted the 2014 EuroLeague trophy as coach of Maccabi) giving a presentation to the players on what it takes to build a successful and sustainable team.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most important thing that we would like to share with you, if there is one thing that we would like you to remember, is that you\u2019re really part of something bigger \u2013 sports that connect people,\u201d Maccabi World Union CEO Amir Gissin told the Maccabi players prior to the tour. \u201cObviously, when you hear the Jewish history of sports, there are many difficult moments that the Jewish people went through. But I think the bottom line that we already can say is that sports connect people \u2013 it goes beyond religion \u2013 and we\u2019re all a part of one big family. I think that when you hear the story of 120 years, I think you\u2019ll feel more connected to it.\u201d<\/p>\n This is a message which resonates even more after everything that happened on October 7 and since then, with the location of the Museum, Kfar Maccabiah, notably currently providing temporary homes to many of the Israelis who have been displaced as a result of hostilities from Hamas down south and Hezbollah up north.<\/p>\n Those interested in visiting the Museum can find more information on the Museum\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n J’Covan Brown – Photo credit: EuroCup<\/p><\/div>\n February: Hapoel Tel Aviv defeat Gran Canaria in EuroCup Action<\/strong><\/p>\n The Drive In provides arguably the most electrifying atmosphere of all the basketball arenas in Israel on a consistent basis for both Israeli and European games. Hapoel Tel Aviv put on a show for their fans in February with a 92-70 victory over eventual tournament winners, Gran Canaria<\/a>. Gran Canaria came into the game with an 11-2 record, but came away with their tails between their legs after a four-quarter effort from Hapoel Tel Aviv coach Danny Franco\u2019s squad, led by strong performances from Jordan McRae, Chinanu Onuaku, Xavier Munford and J\u2019Covan Brown.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very proud of our team effort,\u201d Franco said. \u201cThe fans packed the gym in a sold out game and I am sure that everyone is proud as we compete in the EuroCup step by step and game by game. Everyone that vane off the bench contributed like a team.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey outrebounded us, they outplayed us, so congratulations to Hapoel Tel Aviv,\u201d Gran Canaria coach Jake Lakovic said. \u201cIt\u2019s one loss, we have to go on, there are still some games to play. It was a bad game for us, we need to recover, and play better. As for the fans this was a good experience for us to play in front of such good supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n While Hapoel were ultimately knocked out of the EuroCup by Juventut Badalona, their impressive maiden season in the EuroCup set them up to take the next step in 2023-24, as they go into the new year in second spot in the Group A standings with a 10-2 ledger, despite the difficult situation in which they find themselves in the midst of a war.<\/p>\n Photo credit: FIBA<\/p><\/div>\n March: Elitzur Ramla\u2019s EuroCup Quarter-Final battle against Reyer Venezia<\/strong><\/p>\n When one thinks of Israeli women\u2019s basketball, two of the first names to come to mind are Elitzur Ramla and Shira Haelion. Earlier this year, we saw Haelion\u2019s Ramla team in EuroCup Quarter-Final action against Reyer Venezia. Ramla won the first leg in a come-from-behind 80-75 victory<\/a> on the back of a 27-17 last quarter. However, their European season came to end with Venezia winning 59-48 in the beginning of March, the Italians going through to the Semi-Finals with an aggregate score of 134-128.<\/p>\n Overall it was a successful season for Ramla, winning the League Championship in April with a tough 3-2 victory over Maccabi Bnot Ashdod<\/a> \u2013 Haelion\u2019s current team \u2013 in a battle for the ages.<\/p>\n While Ramla is not participating in the 2023-24 EuroCup due to the war, they continue to lead the Israeli competitions at the end of the 2023 calendar year, going into 2024 with a 6-0 ledger in the League and with a ticket to the Semi-Final of the State Cup game.<\/p>\n April: Maccabi Tel Aviv in the EuroLeague playoffs<\/strong><\/p>\n Maccabi Tel Aviv had its ups and downs during the 2022-23 EuroLeague season, but a strong end to the season saw the Yellow & Blue finish in fifth place, setting up a Quarter-Final series against Monaco. While Maccabi came into the series in good form, the fact that the teams had split their regular season games set up a great series. It was going to be a challenge for new coach Oded Katash, as well as the players \u2013 some of whom were making their EuroLeague playoff debuts.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me personally, I\u2019m very excited to be playing in the Euroleague playoffs for the first time,\u201d center Josh Nebo said in a sit-down with The Sports Rabbi prior to the series<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a great experience for me to go through and as a team we\u2019re also very excited \u2013 but we\u2019re also not complacent and we want to be able to give ourselves the best chance to be able to win, so we\u2019re very focused and trying to see what we can do in the first round.\u201d<\/p>\n Monaco ended up winning the series 3-2<\/a>, which ended with a Monaco run of 21-7 in the final 5 minutes of Game 5, a 79-76 Maccabi lead turning into a 97-86 loss, a disappointing end to Maccabi\u2019s European season.<\/p>\n Maccabi Tel Aviv – Photo credit: Maccabi Tel Aviv<\/p><\/div>\n May: Winner League playoffs begin<\/strong><\/p>\n A day after Hapoel Jerusalem lost the FIBA Basketball Champions League Final against Telekom Baskets Bonn 70-77, the Winner League playoffs got underway in the middle of May with Maccabi Tel Aviv taking vs Hapoel Beer Sheva, Hapoel Jerusalem vs Bnei Herzliya, Hapoel Tel Aviv vs Ironi Nes Ziona and Hapoel Holon vs Hapoel Galil Elyon.<\/p>\n The pinnacle of the Israeli season was a little strange from the get-go, with the best-of-five Quarter-Final series followed by best-of-three Semi-Final and Final series. Disappointingly for fans, three of the Quarter-Final series were sweeps, with only Bnei Herzliya managing to steal a game from Hapoel Jerusalem.<\/p>\n There were no surprises in the Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Hapoel Holon Semi-Final series, with Maccabi winning convincingly to make it to the final round. In the other series, however, Hapoel Jerusalem \u2013 who won the State Cup earlier in the season and had consistently been one of the top two teams throughout the season \u2013 were swept by a Hapoel Tel Aviv to set up a derby in the Final series<\/a>.<\/p>\n While Maccabi\u2019s European season ended with disappointment, ultimately the team ended 2022-23 with success in June at the conclusion of the season, with a 2-1 League finals victory over Hapoel Tel Aviv<\/a>, the Yellow & Blue bringing home their 56th<\/sup> League Championship. It was a positive end to the season, which had been marred not only by the drawn-out Quarter-Final series, but also by violence in the crowds during the Finals series itself.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a difference between happy and colorful stands expressing big love for sport to those fans who bring ugly violence, vandalism and provocation,\u201d CEO of Toto-Winner Meir Bardugo said prior to the deciding Game 3<\/a>. \u201cThis isn\u2019t love for sport \u2013 they are mishaps in sport, which endanger fans, children and sponsors, who bring new money to the League. I want to take this opportunity to call for fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv tonight to focus on the love of sport, on the love of the game and not on hate, antagonism and G-d forbid violence.\u201d<\/p>\n At the press conference, Bardugo also took the opportunity to make a case for extending the Semi-Final and Final series to a best-of-five series, like the Quarter-Final series: \u201cSemiFinal series and Final series must be best of five series. It\u2019s best for the sport and best for the fans.\u201d<\/p>\n Ari Steinberg, Chairman of the Winner League Management, agreed with the need to extend series: \u201cI will already try now to change the Semi-Final and Final series to best-of-five games. It can provide a significant happening, where each game will give its own drama \u2013 and that\u2019s what we need in the League, more interest, which will bring the fans and sponsors.\u201d<\/p>\n The 2023-24 season has had its own unique challenges due to the war, but hopefully come playoff time, the issues that put a blemish on the 2022-23 Winner League playoffs can be fixed for the 2023-24 playoffs.<\/p>\n Daniel Raber – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman<\/p><\/div>\n June: Israel hosts Women\u2019s EuroBasket Group games<\/strong><\/p>\n The local season finished and the international games got started in Israel, with The Drive In hosting 2023 FIBA EuroBasket group games, including all of Israel\u2019s games<\/a>.<\/p>\n Prior to the tournament, The Sports Rabbi sat down with two of Team Israel\u2019s stars, Alex Cohen<\/a> and Jennie Simms<\/a>, who were excited at the prospect of playing in front of home fans.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time we get to put the Israel jersey on is exciting, but to do it in front of our friends and family and our home crowd is something we\u2019ve been dreaming about and excited about for a long time,\u201d Cohen said prior to the tournament. \u201cWhen we first got the news that it was going to be here, we were very, very excited to prepare and to show the world what we have here in Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know a lot of the girls just from the years of me being here,\u201d Simms, who became an Israeli citizen earlier this year, after which she became a member of the national team. \u201cYou know, they\u2019re very welcoming, they\u2019re here with me, so it\u2019s a great feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n Coach Sharon Drucker\u2019s squad were unable to win a game, but they did slowly improve throughout the tournament: a 59-108 blowout to eventual tournament winners Belgium<\/a> was followed by a 68-88 loss to Italy<\/a>, with the Blue & White\u2019s tournament coming to an end after a 52-61 loss to the Czech Republic<\/a>. The future does look bright for the Israeli team, with plenty of young stars still in their mid-twenties, including captain Eden Rotberg, Gili Eisner, Daniel Raber and sisters Lior and Yarden Garzon.<\/p>\n July: Australia and England tie The Ashes series, with Australia retaining the Urn<\/strong><\/p>\n With it being the offseason for basketball in Israel, July was a time to focus on other sports from around the world. One of the highlights for cricket fans was The Ashes \u2013the biennial test series played between England and Australia \u2013 which was held in England during June and July. The series was tied 2-2, which meant that Australia, who held The Ashes after defeating England 4-0 in the previous series, retained the trophy until the next series, due to be held in Australia during the 2025-26 southern hemisphere summer.<\/p>\n The Jewish connection to The Ashes is found in a new exhibition at the oldest sports museum in the world at Lord\u2019s Cricket Ground in London. The exhibition, which opened in June and will run until 2025, tells the story of the Jewish community\u2019s relationship with cricket<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are delighted to have worked with MCC on this landmark exhibition,\u201d Jewish MCC Members and exhibition curators, Zaki Cooper and Daniel Lightman KC, said. \u201cWe believe it to be the first one ever on the subject. As two cricket fans from a young age, we have always been fascinated by our community\u2019s links to the great game. Short of opening the batting for England at Lord\u2019s, this is surely the next best thing!<\/p>\n \u201cThe exhibition is about Jews and cricket and hopefully brings to life how a small minority fell in love with the great game and used it to build community and to frame their sense of identity. It is a story not only about recurring prejudice and the frustration and elation of sport but also of integration and belonging. We hope that people who come to see it enjoy it and it leads to other communities telling their cricketing stories.\u201d<\/p>\n A’ja Wilson – Photo Credit: Derek White\/NBA Photos<\/p><\/div>\n August: A\u2019ja Wilson\u2019s individual record-equaling performance<\/strong><\/p>\n While August is still a quiet time for Israeli basketball, it was a thrill to be in attendance to see American-Israeli Alysha Clark in action for the Las Vegas Aces in their 112-100 win over the Atlanta Dream in Atlanta<\/a>. The highlight of the game which will be remembered for years to come was A\u2019ja Wilson\u2019s 53 points, equaling the record set by Liz Cambage five years as the most points scored by a player in a WNBA game.<\/p>\n \u201cA\u2019ja is special,\u201d Clark said to The Sports Rabbi after the game<\/a>. She\u2019s such an unselfish player and so to be able to tie the record and do it in a way that\u2019s efficient, she didn\u2019t force anything, nothing was hard. She flowed and that\u2019s just the kind of player she is. She\u2019s a great player and she\u2019s going to go down as one of the greats in this game. So I was excited to see her go to work today. It\u2019s always a fun thing to do when you get to witness greatness and that\u2019s what happened today.\u201d<\/p>\n The Aces continued in their victorious ways through to the end of the season, defeating the New York Liberty 3-1 in the best-of-five series to win the 2023 WNBA Championship<\/a> and Clark ending a great personal season by taking away the Sixth Person of the Year Award<\/a>.<\/p>\n Clark played an important role for the Aces in the Finals series, averaging 8.5 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in a little over 28 minutes per game. This was Clark\u2019s third WNBA Championship, after previously winning two with the Seattle Storm in 2018 and 2020.<\/p>\n It was also an emotional moment for Clark, whose father, Duane Clark, passed away in September 2022. \u201cHe\u2019s been with me all season, he\u2019s been my sixth man and I know he would be so happy right now and I\u2019m just so happy,\u201d a teary Clark said immediately after the end of game 4 of the series. \u201cI know he\u2019s with me, and I wish he could be here. I wish I could call him. But this is for him. This entire season, I showed up every day because I know he loved watching me play.\u201d<\/p>\n Photo Credit: Ben Pask<\/p><\/div>\n September: Maccabi Ramat Gan prepares for its return to the Winner League<\/strong><\/p>\n September was officially the last month of the offseason, with teams making their final preparations for the 2023-24 season and Hapoel Jerusalem defeating Maccabi Tel Aviv to take out the preseason tournament.<\/p>\n It was also exciting to see the newly-promoted Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan prepare for its return to the top Israeli League after its relegation following the 2009-10 season, which the team marked with a press conference at its refurbished Zisman Arena<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very exciting, I played basketball for 16 years and this is my eighth year as a coach, it\u2019s a good time to say thank you to the players from last year and this year, thank you to Chen [Shnaiderman, the team\u2019s chairperson] and to the Ramat Gan Municipality who have made my dream come true,\u201d coach Shmulik Brener said. \u201cI\u2019m proud to be a part of this, thank you to the mayor for the things that he said. We believe in excellence and we haven\u2019t just said that we\u2019re aiming for the upper bracket of the league, we really believe in ourself and what we\u2019re building.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very exciting that the management and staff see the spirit that I bring and my way on the court, that I am worthy to wear the jersey and lead the team,\u201d captain Adam Ariel said. \u201cThere\u2019s a new energy with the team, it\u2019s special. I believe that our goal as players and as a team is to bring this energy to the court. I hope that this arena will be full. We want to win and we won\u2019t give up. For many of us this is a new beginning and we want to grow with the club.\u201d<\/p>\n The Sports Rabbi also had a chance to catch up with JP Tokoto<\/a>, who was not only excited to play with his new team, but also excited to play against his former team during the season.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no ill-feeling against Hapoel Tel Aviv, but that\u2019s been my home for the last three years, so going back there will be nostalgic for me, it\u2019ll be very nice,\u201d Tokoto said of the scheduled matchups between Ramat Gan and Hapoel Tel Aviv. The fans \u2013 I\u2019ve been around the city for three weeks now, in Ramat Gan and in Tel Aviv and it\u2019s the same as if I was back with Hapoel Tel Aviv. I just had a fan yesterday stop and say, \u2018JP, we love you, Hapoel!\u2019 So it was nice to have that warm welcoming as if I\u2019m still with them. So going back to the gym, I expect nothing less than positivity and \u2018we miss you, we love you\u2019 and all that. But then when the game starts, it\u2019s different, it\u2019s all respect! It\u2019s great and I\u2019m looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n Ramat Gan currently sit in 5th<\/sup> spot in the Israeli League with four wins and two losses. They will start 2024 with a home game this coming Saturday night against second-placed Hapoel Holon.<\/p>\n Lorenzo Brown – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div>\n October: The opening round of EuroLeague 2023-24<\/strong><\/p>\n Before October 7, Israeli basketball fans were focused on the start of the 2023-24 season. For Maccabi fans, October 5 was their return to Yad Eliyahu for the team\u2019s Round 1 EuroLeague game against the visiting Partizan Belgrade. Prior to the game there were concerns with injuries to stars Wade Baldwin IV and Josh Nebo<\/a>. However, the Yellow & Blue came away with a resounding 96-81, led by Lorenzo Brown, Nebo and Roman Sorkin.<\/p>\n \u201cEspecially when we don\u2019t have Wade, I think that\u2019s a great start for us and offensively,\u201d coach Oded Katash said after the game. \u201cI think Lorenzo [Brown] in the first few minutes pushed us for the right tempo that we need. I think offensively we were great in the first half. We played against a very talented team and I\u2019m very happy for the W.\u201d<\/p>\n This was of course the only EuroLeague game played to date at Yad Eliyahu due to the current war. We will have to see whether we will be able to see EuroLeague action live in Tel Aviv again in the 2023-24 season, but this of course won\u2019t happen in the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/12a2b1af-f357-4786-a1f9-54a51eeef79c.webp\")
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