At the beginning of last season, Maccabi Tel Aviv was close to giving it up, but even before it officially ended, Angelo Cloiaro signed for another two years. , "Said the Greek

• Cloiaro. Successfully made the move to position 3

  Photo: 

  Oded Karni

The first professional change that Yannis Sapropoulos made when he came to Maccabi Tel Aviv was to move Angelo Cloiaro from position 4 to position 3 and thus managed to make him a five-man player in the Euroleague.

The Greek coach greatly appreciates the forward, the great diversity in his game, his team spirit, the contribution from both sides of the pitch, the ability to paralyze players and take an offensive rebound and the intelligence of the game.

Cloiaro, who arrived in 2018 from Turkish side Bennett with no Euroleague experience, made the adjustments well and became a kind of coach player, and yet the sides were very close to parting ways. The Yellows' busy roster in the forward positions at the beginning of last season - headed by Omri Caspi's excellent comeback - has no place left. He was very close to closing in on another team, until the wave of injuries that included Caspi came, and Sapropoulos vetoed and stopped the move. 

Cloiaro remained, returned to play and returned to being dominant. The yellow crowd to which he is very attached - loved it. He was one of the main factors that Maccabi managed so well the period of injuries it had.

Sapropoulos and Cloiaro. The Greek vetoed his departure last season // Photo: Alan Schieber

This is a big story: a player who was on the verge of leaving at the beginning of the second season, receives a two-year contract extension at the end. What is it if not survival, what is it if not evidence of a tough and uncompromising character. His stay is part of Maccabi Tel Aviv's trend to create great continuity in the staff and a relatively comfortable deal financially. The player will earn about 20 percent less than his contract last season and will earn in the region of $ 350,000.

The forward, soon to be 31, was among the few foreigners left in Israel during the Corona period. With the renewal of the season, he also signed up for the Premier League and excelled - this was the final stamp of the big change that led to the closing of a contract even before the end of the season.

Cloiaro, an American of Italian descent, returned dominantly from the Corona backlog and became one of the team’s standout players in the final part of the season. His numbers were excellent: in 24 minutes of play he scored 12.7 points at 41.7 for three, took 4.6 rebounds, delivered 2.9 assists and averaged 17.4.

Sapropoulos expressed his great appreciation for the forward in what he said to the official website: "He is an impressive player, with a high work ethic that is very suitable for Maccabi's system. It was important for me and the management that we extend his contract. I am happy that he stays with us, he is an important player and we will continue to fight together for Maccabi. "