From the conversations in the Hilton corridors to the shock of the Fiba people • Chomsky's promise and the compliments to the people of Burgos • The decision to leave Greece immediately • And what Thomas said in the locker room • Summary from Athens to a hard night in red • And also: Preliminary plans for the future
Hapoel Jerusalem players, last night in Athens
Photography:
Champions League - The Official Website
1.
There were a few Hapoel Jerusalem players who managed to sleep tonight (Wednesday to Thursday) after the painful 92:65 defeat to Burgos in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
The heads of the club huddled among themselves throughout the prestigious Hilton Hotel in Athens and even among the professional staff the shock and disappointment was evident long after the final whistle of the humiliation in Ouaka.
"It's a difficult evening," said owner Eyal Chomsky yesterday who looked very disappointed, "Our people did not sleep a few nights to fix what was needed," he promised.
2.
After the game I saw Katsch and a number of the players approach the people of Burgos in the corridors and compliment them on the excellent game and the high pace at which they could not stand.
"They were much more prepared than us, it was too much for us," admitted Katsch, who looked helpless, adding: "We have hard feelings now."
Tyson Thomas very much disliked what he and his friends presented ("Ugly game, you could say we probably weren't ready") and was one of the few who spoke in the locker room.
The forward told his friends that although this is a painful loss, we need to learn from it and learn the lessons.
"I will remember this game for a long time," he will say later at the press conference.
3.
The members of FIBA and the other teams were also shocked by the heavy defeat of the Israeli Cup holder. "The final will be AEK Athens against Hapoel Jerusalem," one of the members of the organization told me with complete confidence before the opening whistle. After the game he approached me and asked: “Tell me, what exactly was going on here.” I tried to say something about poor preparation and a problem in the coordinator position, but I didn’t really have enough answers.
The
group initially considered whether to stay in Greece for a few more days following the closure in Israel, but apparently due to the result and the unpleasant feelings, they realized that it would not be wise to stay and will land in Israel as early as noon.
The players will be given a few days off and then return to practice according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health.
And what about the future?
Luca Mitrovic's temporary contract expires over the next week and the team has not yet decided whether to exercise the option until the end of the season.
The player himself has stated several times in recent days that he is interested in staying and a decision will soon be made about him.
Nikos Papas, who was not bad in the minutes he played, is not expected to continue ("I wish Jerusalem good luck," he said goodbye), as originally stated.
Malcolm Hill will try to take advantage of the exit option available to him in the near future and find a Euroleague or NBA team, but the team estimates that he will not find and will continue to wear the red uniform until the end of the season.
Another player whose future is still unclear is Davidas Sirvidis.
The young Lithuanian player is under close scrutiny by the Detroit Pistons, but currently is unable to adapt to Hapoel Jerusalem professionally and the possibility has already arisen to loan him to another team where he can get more minutes.
Meanwhile, as we announced last week Chris Kramer will stay for the next two months (if he impresses he will also continue until the end of the season) and by all estimates will be fit until the start of the 2020/21 Champions League season in less than three weeks.