Last summer there were disagreements at Maccabi Tel Aviv regarding leaving Oz Blazer for another season. Management officials thought he might need to be replaced by another player, but Yannis Sapropoulos insisted he was interested in Blazer and claimed it was important to have players like him in the locker room. Believes the forward will be better in his second season.
Blazer, for his part, did not hide for a moment his desire to continue.
He clarified this in conversations with the management and also in interviews in the various media.
He told the teams that approached him that he was waiting for the Yellows, even though they delayed the decision.
He insisted on staying even though he knew that Jake Cohen was returning, and also that if Omri Caspi retired, he would most likely be replaced by another Israeli.
Eventually Sapropoulos came out with his hand on the top and the player signed his contract extension.
Oz Blazer.
His hand in everything, Photo: Oded Karni
"Oz is 29 years old and this is already his ninth season in the league," explains a source who knows the player well.
"He knows that the teams in Israel will always want him, but if he had left Maccabi he would not have gone back there. Last season he built his status well and wanted to reap the fruits this year. I think he did well."
And he certainly did in the mind.
While John Dibertolomeo and Jake Cohen are already on the decline, Yiftach Ziv suffers from adaptation difficulties, injuries and illnesses that prevent him from developing stability, and Roman Sorkin has not yet returned from injury - Blazer is Maccabi Tel Aviv's best Israeli this season, especially in the Israeli league. In 19 minutes on the floor, he scores 8 points with an excellent percentage of all ranges (90% of penalties, 57% for 2 and 45% for 3) and has already been selected three times for the top five.
It's not that the blazer does not have difficult moments.
In the Euroleague he does not get enough opportunities, there are games he is not even on the roster and also in the league he had some less good games that made Sapropolos bench him.
But the forward is not offended and does not lower his head.
He is always working, professionally and mentally, and remains ready for the moment when the opportunity comes.
"It won't help me get into black bile," he previously explained.
"If that happens I will not be ready the next time the coach calls me to come on the field, and then who knows when the next opportunity will come."
Yannis Sapropoulos.
Gave all the backup, Photo: Alan Shiver
As mentioned, in the Euroleague the credit is not big enough.
So far he has only partnered in eight games at the factory and in six he has not dressed at all, and in games where a partner has been given an average of six and a half minutes, but has almost always passed the test.
Particularly memorable are the six points he scored in the six minutes he got in the dramatic loss in Madrid.
"I'm ready for my chance in the Euroleague, but there is a coach and he decides. I will be there when they call me," he said.
Unlike other cases, Blazer is not a cliché.
He has already proved that he is ready when called.
The strong connection to the fans
Beyond professional productivity, the blazer is of great importance on the social side.
He always maintains a positive mood and helps lift morale in the locker room, even in the midst of a recent losing streak.
In fact, Blazer has become the face of Maccabi Tel Aviv and the "new Maccabist." Social media and endowed with self-humor so that he does not hesitate to laugh at himself after vanity, and on the other hand also does not hide his enthusiasm after beautiful moves and big victories.He also initiates and offers ideas to media people to strengthen activity in front of the audience.
Oz Blazer in the previous derby against the Reds.
Will the honor return ?, Photo: Alan Schieber
The strong bond with the fans was felt in that famous game against Kazan, where the crowd shouted scornful boos at Sapropoulos who took Blazer off the bench after just a minute and a half.
The player himself did not feel comfortable with the incident and immediately said: "I have no problem with what happened, I make every decision of the coach."
Despite the unpleasant moment, we got more proof of the connection and love of the fans in yellow for their No. 14.
Blazer celebrates with the Fox Tree.
The Social Man ?, Photo: Oded Karni
The previous derby, in which Maccabi lost only a few weeks ago, was one of Blazer's weakest games this season.
Of all the players, the forward is one of those who understands well the significance of the loss for the club, and tonight in the derby he will go up to the floor to regain the honored injury.
In Thursday's game against Olympiacos he may not have been on the squad, but trust him it will only make him more prepared for the opportunity to come.
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