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Joe Thomasson – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\n\u201cIt feels good, it\u2019s a good feeling. But it\u2019s just the finals, one step closer to where we want to be,\u201d Thomasson told The Sports Rabbi from his home in the Galilee region a day after disposing of the purples up in Gan Ner.<\/p>\n
Gilboa finished the season in third place overall with a 19-10 record, matching Holon who ended the year in second place as the team time and time again were able to win when they needed to while also continuously jell as a team. In fact, the team kept their roster as is from the beginning of the season as no one left during May\u2019s security situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cConsistency and our team camaraderie, and that is what it\u2019s been. Consistent with the group of guys on and off the court and learning each other as one unit on one page. When one of us is having a tough day, it\u2019s being there for our brother. That\u2019s the key to our success. Being active and pushing ourselves to be better. There are guys who haven\u2019t reached their peak and reached their potential. We are excited to lift weights, we are excited to practice and that helps with our physicality and that is our key.\u201d
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Avishay Gordon – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\nThe club also had to overcome a hurdle back in the winter months when head coach Lior Lubin departed the team to work under Oded Katash at Greek Euroleague powerhouse Panathinaikos. Avishay Gordon who had been the head coach at Hapoel Galil Elyon in Kfar Blum for the four previous seasons took over as the club\u2019s new bench boss and did so in style. Allowing assistant coach Guy Kaplan take the lead as he sat back to let the team that had been playing quality basketball to do just that. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur ability to adapt and adjust ourselves as players, myself and my teammates. Lior was a good coach and instilled some things that we push for to this day. We have a great staff with Avishay and Guy Kaplan who is unbelievable. Everyday he brings energy effort, attitude and passion. We understand him and he\u2019s been with me for two seasons and with the rest of the guys for one season. We respect him and Avishay. Those two coaches allow us and me to have a brain and they put me in situations where they trust me and us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Dayton, Ohio native was thrilled to welcome his family to Israel and he explained that having them around has made all of the difference, \u201cIt\u2019s an experience like no other and I am truly grateful and thankful to the General Manager for making sure that I have everything I need to be comfortable so I can deliver. Having my fianc\u00e9e, daughter and son here is a tremendous success for me and I don\u2019t have to worry about being distracted as they can see me perform at a high level. There are some things that money can\u2019t buy.\u201d
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Joe Thomasson – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman
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\nLast Wednesday, the power went out at Gan Ner with 6:58 left in the 4th quarter with Gilboa in front 60-55 and while the lights came back on Holpon refused to take to the court to finish the game. The Israel Basketball Association court ruled that Gilboa would be handed a technical win but after an appeal as made on Friday morning, the ruling was overturned and a replay was required from the start of the game. <\/p>\n
\u201cBall don\u2019t lie, I didn\u2019t like it and didn\u2019t respect that move but it turned out in our favor as I am a firm believer. That game Saturday night emphasized our season and how important it is for us. We understood everyone was against us and that it wasn\u2019t going to be easy. So for us to perform the way we did speaks highly of our character. We don\u2019t make up excuses, we get the job done and we give it our all. That game just helped me and my teammates and gave us some more drive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gilboa and Thomasson had to make sure they got into the right frame of mind quickly in order to make sure they took care of business on Saturday night which they did and now many will consider them underdogs as they ready to take on Maccabi.<\/p>\n
\u201cMental resilience was key and we had to overcome that very quickly. We were upset but overcame it fast and now we have two more wins to go. We don\u2019t feel that we are an underdog but we are coming in as who we are, we aren\u2019t underdogs. Maybe in terms of them playing in the Euroleague, budget and the like we are underdogs. But on the court, nah, it don\u2019t work like that.\u201d
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Joe Thomasson – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\nThe Wright State product prides himself on his defense and has been at the top of his game throughout the playoffs. While he wouldn\u2019t get into specifics as to how Gilboa will look to stop Maccabi, Thomasson does know full well he will look to stop the Yellow & Blue\u2019s star guard, \u201cWe\u2019re going to go out there and play hard. One of the keys will be is stopping Scottie Wilbekin. The last two series I checked one of the best guards in Tamir Blatt and CJ Harris so Wilbekin will be one of the keys. He\u2019s a great player but I believe in myself and my defense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomasson has also fallen in love with the supporters who have showered their love back on him and the championship as he explains is a lot bigger than just the game of basketball, \u201cIt\u2019s a feeling like no other. They love me and embrace me both on and off the court. We sit down for Shabbat dinners and they teach me about the history of Israel. They made sure that we were safe when the war as going on. I will do everything that I can do to help this city win a championship, they deserve it as much as we do. We lost one of our best friends in Daniel Sasson and it\u2019s much more than basketball we are playing for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coach Avishay Gordon is one of the rare former or current players that have won more than one league championship with a team other than Maccabi Tel Aviv. In 2007\/08, Gordon was part of the Hapoel Holon team that downed Maccabi and he was also on the 2009\/10 Hapoel Gilboa Galil club that bested the Yellow & Blue.
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Joe Thomasson – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\nWith that, Gordon has made sure his players are fully aware of the fact, \u201cHe always tells us to put it in our heads. He inspires and says that this will be a moment that we will never forget. We\u2019ll be able to tell our children and grandchildren in 20-30 years from now that we won a title against Maccabi Tel Aviv and he felt that twice. I told him that it will be a bit more special for him now as a coach. I love him as a person, he is unbelievable. He has no ego. This club is run by a bunch of people who perform at the highest level and we are all doing so each and every day. We are never satisfied and never complacent.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a veteran, Thomasson\u2019s personal role has led him to be a serious influence of the team. With stops in Romania and Poland while having also played in the VTB League, the 6\u201d4 lanky guard has been able to accumulate experience that none of the other players on the club has which has allowed him to be the veteran leader of the group.<\/p>\n
\u201cI take pride is seeing my teammates get better. I am proud that each and every single one have gotten better this season. I have seen it and have been a voice in their ear all season. I am the oldest at 27 years old and I want to reach higher places also and to see them take the next step in their journey makes it even better. I can say that I did my best to make my team better. As a point guard all the greatest make their teammates better and aren\u2019t out there trying to score 20 points a night.\u201d
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Joe Thomasson – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\nThomasson\u2019s final thoughts are on what he wants to accomplish as the season nears its end and of course about his teammate who suffered a serious injury while biking in the area of Gan Ner, \u201cThis is the second season I am in Israel and it has been great to me. I want to do something special. I want to thanks the fans, the true Gilboa Galil supporters who didn\u2019t expect that we would be in this situation. We had a lot of doubters and haters and we will continue to prevail. We are looking forward to the championship. We won\u2019t forget that our brother Daniel Sasson is still in the hospital. He may not be here with us but he is a part of this entire team.\u201d
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/23603c24-4c90-4fdb-b2b4-9d65d5032302-2.jpeg\")
Joe Thomasson – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hapoel Gilboa Galil is preparing to face Maccabi Tel Aviv the Israel Basketball League Finals in a best of three series with game one slated for Monday at Yad Eliyahu in Tel Aviv while game two on Wednesday will take place at Gan Ner. If necessary, game three will be held on Thursday night back […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":37338,"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":[178,180,4],"class_list":["post-37323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holy-land-hoops","tag-hapoel-gilboa-galil","tag-joe-thomasson","tag-maccabi-tel-aviv","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n