![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_1034.jpeg\")
Mrs Maya Solomou – Photo credit: Yehuda Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\n\u201cThe road to this achievement was not easy,\u201d Mrs. Solomou began. \u201cAs the team had to play all its games abroad and confront the security situation at home. An additional challenge comparing to other teams. This is a great, a historic moment for the team and for Israeli sports in general, especially during these difficult times. <\/p>\n
\u201cFrom our side, we share this joy, considering that this was made possible thanks to the contribution of those three Greek gentlemen, well known for their longstanding experience, their passion for the game and their ethos. They demonstrated, once again, their great capabilities, but also resilience and perseverance, values that characterize the Greek people. This success is another example that cooperation between our two nations, Greeks and Israelis can lead to great things.\u201d
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_1016.jpeg\")
Mrs Maya Solomou – Photo credit: Yehuda Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\nAmbassador Solomou continued, \u201cIn this very challenging period for Israel and the entire area, nothing is to be taken as granted and we are all very aware of this. So, I want to reiterate, once more, the urgent need for the immediate release of all hostages and at the same time I want to express the hope that peace will be soon achieved, fulfilling the dream of each human being. Progress and prosperity. Mr. Itoudis, Mr. Hinas and Mr. Dedas, good luck for the playoffs. <\/p>\n
\u201cI am honored that we are here at the Greek Ambassador\u2019s residence,\u201d a flattered Coach Itoudis said. \u201cThis means a lot to us, for the team and thank you for taking the opportunity to recognize us and to mention the great collaboration that there is between the Israelis and the Greeks. Thank you so much for this. It’s a great honor and pleasure.\u201d
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_1025.jpeg\")
Dimitrios Itoudis and Mrs Maya Solomou – Photo credit: Yehuda Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\n\u201cThank you, to all of you for coming and you are honoring me with your presence. Thank you the goes to the Ambassador, Mrs. Solomou and to Mr. Mavroidis, the Consul, that they organized this nice event at the residence of the ambassador. You know, it’s very touching and the fact that on behalf of the coach’s staff that happens to be Greeks, the ambassador unites the two nations, the Israeli nation and also honors the Greek nation and the collaboration they have means that they also honor Israeli basketball, Hapoel Tel Aviv.\u201d <\/p>\n
Itoudis continued, \u201cThe club\u2019s Ofer Yannay is the leader of this group, so we’re feeling very proud at the same time to be honest, I also fell the obligations that I have toward both nations and while we’re part of the sports world, we’re kind of sport ambassadors as we work abroad. Thank you once again to Mrs. Solomou for this brilliant idea and the honor.\u201d
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_1023.jpeg\")
Mrs Maya Solomou – Photo credit: Yehuda Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\nThe bench boss arrived in November and joined a pair of Greeks in Dedas and Hinas who had joined the team earlier on, \u201cFirst of all, you know me, I don’t work with people based on their passport. The fact that both of them, Stefanos Dedas and George Hinas were already here, we were able to continue the collaboration as I had already worked with Steph before. I met George here and he is a passionate and motivated guy and works every day 24\/7. It’s fun to be able to work with Greeks here, but it’s fun to work also with the entire staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Hapoel Tel Aviv joining the Euroleague for the upcoming campaign, owner Ofer Yannay is looking to ensure that the club has the best possible staff available to his team in order to reach the successes that he has envisioned. Manos Papadopoulos, who has most recently served as the sports director at Zenit St. Petersburg and prior to that with Panathinaikos, is reportedly set to join the staff as Yannay looked to bring in an experienced executive who will deal with Euroleague relationships.
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_1051.jpeg\")
Dimitrios Itoudis – Photo credit: Yehuda Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\n\u201cThe only thing I can say right now is that we all work together in order to bring people and players and to teach them that at the club they must do their job in the highest level because the Euroleague demands that and I request that of them as well. We have ears and eyes everywhere to strengthen the team in all positions,\u201d Itoudis commented on the upcoming hire.<\/p>\n
In a light hearted moment, Itoudis jokingly spoke about adding a former NBA Most Valuable Player to his cadre, \u201cAs for Giannis Antetokoumpo, he is a great player and he will stay in there in the NBA, he’s not coming here and we did not consider it. I think that he has to choose right now to either stay in Milwaukee or go to another great team in NBA and we wish him the best of luck.\u201d
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_1009.jpeg\")
Dimitrios Itoudis – Photo credit: Yehuda Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\nWith Hapoel Tel Aviv in the midst of the playoffs and due to the elongated schedule that saw more than a week break between the quarterfinals and semifinals, Itoudis is looking forward to getting make to the postseason after having swept Hapoel Gilboa Galil 3-0.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got to be honest, this delay pretty much kills the in sporting aspect, the continuity and the shape that the players were in as it\u2019s been nine or ten days since we played the last series of games against Gilboa Galil and we look a little bit rusty. I hope we’re not going to look that rusty because we’re coming into a best-of-three series and not a best-of-five.\u201d
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_1048.jpeg\")
Dimitrios Itoudis – Photo credit: Yehuda Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\n\u201cWe had some good practices and the players are very motivated. They’re doing a really good job and we’re focused. We have a couple more practices and we’re looking forward. We hope that we’re going to play in front of our crowd and that they’re going to fill the arena. They’re going to give that extra boost that is needed for players to perform.\u201d <\/p>\n
One of Hapoel\u2019s most important players in guard Yam Madar who has been out injured since the EuroCup final and while he is attempting to get back into the swing of things, it is still going to be a challenge for the Israeli to return to the court for Itoudis\u2019s squad.
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_1049.jpeg\")
Dimitrios Itoudis – Photo credit: Yehuda Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\n\u201cYam\u2019s making his efforts to come back. It\u2019s not easy and Yam is a high competitive. He’s making a great effort with medical staff after the doctor gave him the green light and he’s working with everyone in order to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Itoudis is a 2x Euroleague championship coach after winning the title with CSKA Moscow in 2016 and 2019 and while he would very much want to be in Abu Dhabi for the Final Four, the bench boss will be in Israel with his team as they look to punch their ticket to the finals in domestic league action.
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_1033.jpeg\")
Dimitrios Itoudis – Photo credit: Yehuda Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\n\u201cMany people called me from the Euroleague including the officials and management and I would love to be there. As president of the Euroleague Head Coaches Board, but also as a coach that had won this league, because they are celebrating the first 25 years of the league and they made a great gesture to invite all of the coaches that had won the league before. But on the 23rd we have a game and I need to stay with my team. So most likely I’m not going to be there, unfortunately, but I wish the best of luck to everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the Euroleague Final Four, the semifinals are finals. Obviously, as a Greek, I would like there to be a Greek Derby in the final between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos. Let’s enjoy good basketball!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The relationship between Israel and Greece in the realm of sports has always been a deep one. This was proven once again as Hapoel Tel Aviv Head Coach Dimitrios Itoudis along with assistant Stefanos Dedas and General Manager George Hinas, who are all from Greece helped the club capture the EuroCup title last month which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":143466,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[97],"class_list":["post-143426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holy-land-hoops","tag-hapoel-tel-aviv","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n