David Bassan, manager of Jerusalem and one of the club's strong men, celebrates the sixth hoist in a special interview • He does not forget Amara Stodmaier's move: "To a fan like a knife in the heart" • Bar Timor's status: "Sometimes he is frustrated" • And the league selection Champions: "No regrets"

• Besan in the cup celebrations. the right way

  Photo:

  Alan Shaver

One of the strongest people in Hapoel Jerusalem is David Basan. The official title is "manager", but anyone who knows what is going on in the club knows it is much more than that. He has broad influence, and yet he is rarely interviewed, except here and there in the Jerusalem media. But now, after the wonderful win of the sixth National Cup, he answers "Israel Today" all the important questions.

"There are good feelings in the team," he begins, "always fun to win the title, probably a second year in a row. It gives a seal that the process we do is right, it's not just one-time wins."

What did you go through with McNeil's shot?

"When the ball was in the air it looked like an eternity. When you do things right and in good shape, luck goes with you. We were lucky in that case, even though we have to remember that we led almost the whole game."

Jerusalem Cup players // Photo: Alan Shiber

What’s special about this team that peaked for each of its important games this season?

"It's also the excellent human composition we have, and also the experience that encouraged Ketch and the system gained from last season. We understood how and when to reach the peak."

Besan (45) is a fan who operates Jerusalem from childhood. He previously worked in senior positions in local and national media, and when Uri Alon acquired ownership of the group in 2013 with Eyal Chomsky, he was recently joined by the club as marketing and communications manager. In 2017, he became the team manager, and is now in charge of the entire logistics side, taking care of the team's mantle, and having a significant stake in discipline matters and conversations with the players and professional staff.

What’s the most exciting moment since you started working in a team?

"When we won the first championship in 2014/15 there was really excitement and ecstasy. At some point we were in great lag and we all thought about how it escaped us and we knew how to rise and take. It was really exciting."

And the most painful moment?

"The first game in Valencia in the EuroCap semi-final in 2017. It was also the professional loss in the game we were already leading and if we won it everything might have looked different, and of course the mess with the fans and their exclusion from the field. It is not a good moment in the historical evidence for Hapoel Jerusalem "As a management, we made mistakes in handling the event. It started with a snowball that only in the last few weeks we are getting into a better track. It was the hardest moment for me."

You're hardly interviewed, what's the reason?

"I'm not shy or hidden from the tools, but I know my place in the system. My place is behind the scenes and my job is to take care of the players and coaches to whatever they need and give them the best tools to succeed, whether it be in the morning or in the middle of the night and whether it is to order A place in a restaurant or buying a cure for a sick player. I don't need to be in front. For me, when players want to stay here and as Guy Harel's CEO, it's easy to negotiate with players because we have the name of a club that provides excellent conditions, that's the biggest paragon for me. "

Mac. "Coordinate with him in advance" // Photo: Liron Moldovan

How do you inform a player of the level of Shelvin Mack that he does not dress in the Cup?

"Shelvin Mack is formidable, and of course he was very disappointed not to play in the semi-finals - he already knew he would not play in the finals, but in advance he coordinated with him expectations that he would know such a possibility. He defeated, but understood and did everything he could in the locker room, in talks with the players , On the bench. An experience to be near such a person. "

In an interview with "Israel Today" earlier this season, Bar Timor said he wanted to play more in Europe this season. Doesn't that just happen?

"Bar is a man of conduct. It's hard for him not to play, like other players. There are moments that frustrate him, but his ability to contain it is the one that sets him apart. Hapoel Jerusalem for Bar Timor and Bar Timor for Hapoel Jerusalem are not ordinary relationships. Team and player, there's a much deeper relationship here. He's part of the family here. "

Amara in yellow. "Expect more from him" // Photo: Udi Citiat

"Emotional anger"

Your fans are very angry about Amara Stodmaier's signing at Maccabi Tel Aviv. Are there similar feelings within the club?
"The fans' anger towards him comes from a very emotional place. The fans were expecting him with more emotional intelligence and not going to Maccabi. For a fan, when a player moves to the big opponent, it's like a knife in the heart.

If he had moved to any other group in the country it would have been more part of his throat. On the other hand, I can understand it too. Amara is a basketball player all his life, and he saw an opportunity to extend his career. For us as a group it sucks and we would prefer that it not happen. "

Besan celebrates the final of the trophy // Photo: Alan Shiber

Some of Hapoel Jerusalem's audience and the media also claim that your place is in the Euroleague's Eurocap and not in the FIBA ​​Champions League.

"It is very good for us in the Champions League, even in the way the factory heads relate to Hapoel Jerusalem, both on the professional level and in the management and development of the factory. It should be remembered that this is overall the fourth season of the factory, and I am sure it will improve. Part of the fans' disappointment is not because of the level of The factory is because the transition signifies a Euroleague waiver, but I can say for sure - we did not give up the Euroleague, the Euroleague gave up on us.

They decided that Hapoel Jerusalem was not a club worthy of this circle. Even if we got there one season we would go down a year after that, and you can see that most clubs that cost one year for the Euroleague are crashing. "

Besan doesn't want to underestimate the Champions League: "We are not looking at diminishing respect for playing in the Champions League and not apologizing to anyone. We really do not regret it."