Holon, which is recording the best European season in its history, will try to conquer a new summit tonight when a victory over Brindisi will guarantee it a place in the Final 8 of the Champions League.
Holon players.
A historic evening at Eshed Hall
Photo:
Danny Maron
After qualifying for the second time in the history of the second round of the Champions League, Hapoel Holon will try to continue its magical journey at the factory tonight, with a victory over Brindisi guaranteeing a ticket to the Final 8 tonight in what will actually be a new European summit for the Purples.
Ahead of the meeting, we ranked the five largest campaigns of Israeli teams in Europe in the current millennium, not in the Euroleague, of course.
1. Hapoel Jerusalem - winning the Yuliv 2004 Cup
The greatest achievement ever of an Israeli team in Europe that is not Maccabi Tel Aviv, takes on even greater significance thanks to the rival in the final - the great Real Madrid.
Sharon Drucker led a wonderful Jerusalem team that made history in Charleroi - Will Solomon with the ability and the wineries, Doron Sheffer in a kind of comeback, Tongji Ajoubi in a big job under the baskets and the great attrition Kelly McCarthy, a player brought in by Maccabi Rishon LeZion after the start of the season. Until he was mentioned as a possible replacement for Anthony Parker, in the final he scored 22 points and did not get off the floor.
Following the win, Hapoel Jerusalem received a ticket to the Euroleague for next season, but did not redeem it.
Since then, the team has not returned from the capital to the European final.
2. Hapoel Jerusalem - Semifinals of the 2017 EuroCup
Italian coach Simona Pianigani had an excellent campaign with Jerusalem, and was the closest to restoring the achievement from 2004. Jerusalem reached the semi-finals of the EuroCup, but lost in the best series from 3 to Valencia in the third and decisive game held in Spain.
With Amara Studmeier as the face of the team, Curtis Geralds and Jerome Dyson as the main point providers, and with the defensive anchor Terence Kinsey and an Israeli contribution from Lior Eliyahu and Yotam Halperin, the Reds stopped only at the most experienced team in the factory and the one that won it the most times.
3. Hapoel Tel Aviv - Final Four Euroleague 2004
In those years the Euroleague was the top factory of FIBA and the third largest on the continent after the Euroleague and the ULB Cup.
The Reds from Ussishkin, with Erez Edelstein on the lines, put up one of the strongest and most balanced teams in their history that season.
With William Avery on the outside and Michael Wright on the inside, Bosnian forwards Jasmine Hokic and Virginia Fraskevicius and a big season by Lior Lubin and Yaniv Green, alongside the two fighters Matan Naor and Dror Hajjaj.
In the quarterfinals, the team passed Zvika Sharaf's powerful Moscow in red, and advanced to the Final Four in Kazan.
In the semi-final from the engagement of the young Vasilis Spanoulis was already big on her, and the Reds took comfort in winning third place after a win over Ural-Great.
Hapoel Jerusalem - Semifinals July 2006
Once again Erez Edelstein reaches the last four in a European factory.
Two years after winning the ULB, another great European season for the Reds from the capital. Meir Tapiro was the leader, and Jerusalem had a quality foreign quartet with coordinator Horace Jenkins, center Mario Austin, slinger Roger Mason (later in San Antonio) and forward Tamar Sly excelled in wings. .
In the quarterfinals, the Jerusalem team ousted Roma with Svetislav Pasic on the lines and Diane Bodiruga on the floor, and were stopped only in half by the constellation of Dynamo Moscow and Dusan Ivkovic (want names? Lazarus Papadopoulos, Ruben Douglas, Antonis Potassis and Hano Mottola) who continued all the way .
5 Hapoel Holon - 2021 Champions League
Until this season the team in purple has not been successful in Europe, and has not even passed the first home stage of the Champions League.
She even slightly humiliated her record achievement (the 2019 European Cup semi-final).
But this year everything has changed.
Stefanos Dadas (if he qualifies for the quarterfinals will look like a serious candidate to finish as coach this season at the factory) built a wonderful team, with Tyros Maggie and CJ Harris in the back line, the mighty Chris Johnson, Isaiah Miles who shot 54 percent to 3 positions , 4 and Guy Pnini, who has already seen it all and with his own hands won several games with tremendous moves.
On the way, Holon defeated the teams that are ranked second in the Greek league, the Turkish league and the Italian league.
If you beat Brindisi tonight and qualify for the final, 8 it is very possible that the Holon campaign will be ranked one or two places higher.
Almost in:
Hapoel Jerusalem - the quarterfinals of the 2020 Champions League - thanks to the ability and because of the corona.
Worth mentioning:
the Ness Ziona qualifier last weekend for the Final Four of the European Cup.
If she wins the title or even qualifies for the finals, she will have a place of honor in our rankings.