He is the oldest player in the Premier League, but "does not ask for discounts" • Not a follower of vaccines, but vaccinated to "not be tested twice a week" • Jonathan Schuldbrand, the best three-pointer in Israel, maintains love with Hapoel Eilat and the city, and sure: "Our foreigners In caliber after the season "
Schuldbrand.
Strengthens relationships overseas
Photo:
Maor Alexelsi
Since 2013, the year he was first a leading player in the basketball Premier League, Jonathan Schuldbrand wins Maccabi Tel Aviv almost every season. On Tuesday (Saturday) he did it for the eighth time, but did not celebrate exceptionally. Also because there is currently no exact place.
"A victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv is special, because before games against it there is a special motivation and a desire to prove that you deserve to be there," he says in an interview with Israel Today, "although I do not exactly deserve to be in Othello Hunter's place.
"Victories over the other big teams are also special."
With three minutes left, when Maccabi Tel Aviv came back from an 18-point deficit to 82:80, few thought they would win.
"We came in aggressive, and at the time of the game we didn't think we were actually with a rotation of only seven players. We were in control throughout the game. We kept well, moved the ball properly, so we were not afraid."
Coach Ariel Beit Halachmi has assembled a talented group of foreigners who might bring Hapoel Eilat a degree?
"Our foreigners are in caliber after the season. Except for Josh Nibu, everyone has been to Europe. Very technical guys who understand basketball."
"The leader of Hapoel Eilat"
Schuldbrand is the oldest player in the Premier League (at the end of the season he will celebrate 38).
He is a strange chicken in the Israeli basketball sky, and if you will - one of the team's big misses.
His father, former basketball player Lawrence Schuldbrand, came to Israel in the 1970s with a Swedish team, fell in love with Bella and settled in the Emirates.
Their youngest son made his league debut for Maccabi Karmiel about 20 years ago and then played in the Upper Galilee and Ramat Hasharon.
From his successful tenure in Sweden, Schuldbrand moved to Rincon from the Second Spanish League, where he met his wife Laura.
A string of ankle injuries caused him to retire, and spent the 2011 season on a honeymoon, until in the summer of that year he decided to return.
Erez Edelstein and Hapoel Tel Aviv, then in the second division, picked up the gauntlet, and since then Schuldbrand has flourished and become the best Israeli slinger in the senior league (see table). He does all this from the power-forward position. Until we landed in Eilat, where satisfaction is mutual.
Joe Ragland, the great coordinator of the team, told him in one of the training sessions: "You are the biggest slingshot I have played with."
Beit Halachmi testifies about him: "He is the leader of the team. A very smart player, he trains hard and does not ask for discounts. Seeing him train in morning training is an experience. The young people in the team admire him."
And Schuldbrand tries to explain: "Every day I invent for myself some story that I can get better at. In my heart I will always remain a child. I live in a movie that I am still 20 years old."
Will you end your career here?
"I'm too young to think about it," he laughs, "Eilat is a special city. Although I like cold, I really like the city. There are special people here, and tourists will not understand that, only the locals. You get a sense of home, That you belong to their family. "
Along with his offensive advantages, quite a few claims are made towards his defensive ability.
"It's a matter of concentration. I'm not hurt by people looking to walk on me. I have an ankle problem that I have nothing to do with. I'm not lazy, but trying to get better. I just can not keep my guards nimble."
"People get used to everything"
About a year ago, with the outbreak of the corona plague, Schuldbrand packed his belongings and joined his wife and daughter in Malaga, Spain, his permanent home.
Every summer he travels to his summer cabin in Sweden, where many of his friends are waiting for him.
This summer there was no such holiday, nor did he return to the Corona League in June-July (for three reasons: knee injury, family, and total suspension in Spain).
In mid-August, he left his family and returned to Eilat.
His wife Laura is a local singer and is currently in Spain, with their seven-year-old daughter.
"She can not join me, because even though there are no performances she continues to create music and music videos," says Schuldbrand.
In December, they arrived for a month-long visit, which ended just before Ben Gurion Airport closed.
Did you have to insist that they stay and then they were vaccinated?
"We are not adherents of the vaccine. I was vaccinated with the first vaccine two weeks ago because I was tired of having two corona tests every week."
What is it like to live in a city that was a bustling tourist center and has become desolate?
"It looks weird, but people get used to everything."
Schuldbrand is the only player in the league who is not affiliated with any TV company.
"I do not like politics and do not like to hear about politics. I feel like I am being soaped on TV. I do not believe them."
So what are you watching?
"Especially in documentaries and history films."
You do not watch basketball from the world?
"No. I deal with myself. It does not interest me nor do I care what is said about me on broadcasts. I get the training hours on WhatsApp and that's it. In training I am updated when there is a closure, when it opens. I like to disconnect from the environment."
As long as you want to continue playing, will you do so in Eilat?
"I'm still young," he laughs again, "so why commit?".