Hapoel Holon is facing an important moment in its season.
Today (Wednesday) the final round will take place in the home stage of the Champions League, and at the end of it the Purples will know if they will rise directly to the top 16 of the factory or they will have to go through another stage on the way.
It will also be Europe's first tool trial of its redesign.
Holon will host the Italian Brindisi (19:00, Sport 5 Stars), and at the same time wait for the result of the Romanian Cluj to host Droshpaka.
Cluj's loss and Holon's victory and she finishes first and rises to the big 16.
In any other situation the picture gets complicated.
If Holon finishes second and goes to the
play-offs, it will have to go through the series (with a home advantage) in Besiktas or Oldenburg.
It is important to note that the Italian rival tonight needs the game even though it is ranked last with a lone win.
If she wins in Holon, she can still advance to the play-offs.
Holon started the season with a storm with 61:88 over Brindisi in Italy, and it looked like they were going to take over the house.
But then two things happened: the Purples weakened and lost twice, and the Romanian Cluj - who was considered weak at home - caused a big surprise and proved the opposite.
So far she has one loss, and it is she who causes Holon not to be dependent on itself.
Busquila.
First you have to beat Brandizi, Photo: Berni Ardov,
By the way, there is also an unreasonable possibility.
A loss by a high margin of Holon and a high victory by Drushpaka could lower Holon to third place and a series of play-ins without a home advantage against Burgos.
If Holon goes directly to the quarterfinals, it will be interesting.
Malaga - one of the candidates for the title - will be waiting there and it is possible that Hapoel Jerusalem will also play in the play-offs.
Holon completed its staff early in the summer and made excellent preparation for the season.
This was one of the reasons he started the season great with 0: 3 in the league and 0: 2 in Europe.
It looks close to perfect.
Very quickly it turned out not to.
Since then, in ten games in Europe and in the league she has lost six times.
The team shows instability (in the last six league games after every win comes a loss).
The Purples are no longer as convincing as they were at the beginning of the season and the team realized that their staff needed renovations.
The two weaknesses that stood out were: the need for an increased presence in the color area and a player who would be more suited to Joe Ragland.
Steve Zack, who previously played for Hapoel Beer Sheva, was added a few weeks ago to strengthen the chin position in which he shares with Michael Kaiser.
Joe Ragland is the dominant coordinator and man in Holon.
The problem was that he was exposed in the turret.
Stephen Gray who played next to him is an excellent scorer, but not a player who helps him lead the ball and relieve the pressure from it - something that made it easier for the rival to press and concentrate on him.
The change came last week.
Gray was released, and in his place was signed Adam Smith who came from the Turkish league and is supposed to fulfill the function that Gray did not fulfill.
If both changes work, Holon will be a more complete group.
Now, this is the test time of the reunion that should be more balanced.
Smith already made his debut in the loss to Eilat on Saturday, but it was difficult to test his combination because the new guard's debut was immediately after joining. Today, it will already be a real real test first. One important thing must not be forgotten and can be the basis of Holon's optimism : There have been a lot of changes in the team since last season, including this season, and yet the two anchors that are the basis for everything remain: Chris Johnson and Guy Pnini.
Holon is full of ambition.
Last season she reached the Big 8 of the Champions League.
This season she wants to at least recreate the achievement, not to mention the high expectations in the league.
Now, after going through the renovation phase she hopes she has the staff to storm the targets.
Direct immigration to the top 16 tonight will be a good start.
At the end of the victory in the previous round over Drushpaka.
What will happen tonight?
Photo: Oded Karni,
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us
