Hapoel Jerusalem has been counting for the fifth season in a row without qualifying for the playoff finals.
The home loss yesterday (Thursday) 80:77 to Hapoel Holon marked a very disappointing season in which the Reds were eliminated already in the play-in stage of the Champions League, the quarterfinals of the state cup and the semifinals of the playoffs.
In fact, since the departure of Uri Alon in the middle of the 2017/18 season, the team has won two trophies, but has not had a single chance to win the championship.
In Europe, she reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League twice, a factory she moved to in order to be more successful than in the EuroCup, where she reached the semifinals in the 2016/17 season, in which she also won the Israeli championship.
In the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons, Jerusalem played quality and fine basketball under Oded Katash, but beyond the two trophies it won, it also failed in the league and did not meet the high expectations in Europe, where it was stopped twice in the last eight stages.
The 2020/21 season was bad with a change of coaches, sixth place at the end of the regular season in the league, relegation in the semi-finals of the State Cup and in the first stage of the Champions League.
The current season also opened in a very bad way which led to the dismissal of Oren Amiel.
The second half of the season was already better and could leave some optimism for the future.
Since Yotam Halperin took the reins in place of Oren Amiel, the team has stabilized both in terms of results and ability on the field.
The Reds led the table at many stages of the season and of course also finished the top house when they were in first place.
The problems arose in Money Time when the team lost all three be-or-cease games in which it participated this season, two of which took place at the arena, leaving a sour taste of disappointment from the season.
Halperin at a loss, Photo: Danny Maron
"In the result test we were unable to meet the goals we set for ourselves at the start of the season," admitted Halperin, who opened the season as a sports director and finished it as a coach.
"I think as the season progressed we were able to stabilize the team a bit. Along with difficult and disappointing moments, we also had very good moments and came out of difficult situations. As a club we will have to learn from what we had."
Halperin also referred to his personal future: "I had many challenging moments that I loved, I really like it and basketball is very close to my heart, I need a second to breathe, relax, understand what is right and what is wrong, understand what our situation is for next season. The challenge and the journey "It was good for me on a personal level, with the painful ending. I take a lot of good things forward, whether I continue to coach or not."
On the disappointment of the crowd he added: "I had no doubt that even after the loss, the crowd will be there for us. That's how I knew him for the last ten years, and saw him in much worse situations, but he remains the same crowd. My biggest sorrow is for him. It will be a long summer, "And I go home with my head held high. An athlete needs to know how to deal with losses."
Jerusalem fans.
"The audience remains the same audience," Photo: Danny Maron
When Halperin talks about a long summer, he hints, among other things, at the great plans of the heads of the Jerusalem club to get the team back on the path to success.
It is estimated that the players' budget will increase, and the club will also try to upgrade the Israeli staff and also go for safer names in the foreign sector compared to the bets taken with no choice last summer with the signing of Thon Maker and Anthony Bennett.
In talks with various basketball officials in recent weeks, the heads of Hapoel Jerusalem clarified their ambition to build a better team and conveyed a message that sufficient resources will be allocated for this purpose.
4. Despite heavy forces of policing and security, there was again a physical confrontation between Hapoel Jerusalem fans and Hapoel Holon fans during which some Jerusalem fans needed medical treatment.
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