The story of Hapoel Holon's progress as a club can be a model for many teams that want to get out of mediocrity and become a top team in Israeli basketball.
Just before seven or eight the team in purple still struggled against relegation and played in a hall that was not suitable for the modern era.
Since moving to the new Toto Hall, Holon has become one of the three largest in Israeli basketball.
She is a regular member of the decisive positions in the league and the cup, and tonight (Wednesday) received another stamp when she recorded her second consecutive qualification for the quarterfinals of the Champions League after defeating Dijon 83:90 in the decisive game in the home stage.
Manco and Smith Celebrate, Photo: Alan Schieber
The first minutes were bad news for Holon and took them back two or three years in which they lost almost all the decisive games in Europe.
The French team opened frantically and flew to a double-digit advantage within minutes.
Tyros Maggie and his friends got entangled in the offense problem, and the purple fans began to see the European journey end sooner than desired.
Guy Goodes used to say that in his team every night a different player can stand out.
Adam Smith has been showing lately that his coach is absolutely right.
The guard who has already been pushed to the edge of the rotation recently returned in a big way, and yesterday completed a great game of 29 points, including 17 points in the first half that brought Holon down with a minimal lag and left it in a good position for the second half.
Tyros Maggie on defense, Photo: Alan Schieber
Michael Kaiser, another player who was already on the boards, and the never-ending Chris Johnson provided a tremendous game and arranged for Holon the prestigious ticket to the last eight of the factory.
The only thing that can cloud the purple celebration a bit is 0 points for the Israeli players.
Hapoel Holon finished in first place in the ninth house with a 2: 4 balance (advantage in the direct meetings over the second Ludwigsburg), and will gain the home advantage in the quarter-final series that will be held using the best of 3 method and will begin on April 5-6.
The next stage draw will take place as early as Friday in Bilbao, the city that will host the Final Four games in May.
List of possible rivals: Topash Bourse (Turkey), Strasbourg (France), Malaga (Spain).
Guy Goodes.
Impressive achievement, Photo: Alan Schieber
Michael Kaiser in the Air, Photo: Alan Schieber
Adam Smith, Photo: Alan Schieber
Chris Johnson, Photo: Alan Schieber
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us