Rafi Manko: "We were despised, and no one believed in this group. That is what united us."

The forward won his first championship ("All my life I've been waiting for this").

Tyros Maggie is back in labor ("Goodes' wife came to be with my wife, and I was excited").

Adam Smith watched with a smile ("I went crazy. It was hard to sit on the sidelines, but I have a part in the win").

And the audience asked Guy Pnini to stay.

The night of the celebrations in Holon

Ahrela Weisberg

10/06/2022

Friday, 10 June 2022, 06:35

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A night full of excitement passed last night (Thursday) for Hapoel Holon and its fans, who celebrated a second championship in history - and the first at the end of a playoff series, and more in the home arena.

After gathering in the locker room, singing, dancing and splashing water on each other, the actors were photographed with the plate and rings, and went out to the plaza outside the Toto Hall to rejoice with the hundreds of fans, who waited for them until one o'clock at night.

"How long have we waited for this moment, there is a championship!" Roared Guy Pnini, who led the crowd singing.

"You came with us to your place, and you deserve it the most."

When the fans broke out in the song "Stay, Stay", the captain replied to them: "I want to stay, and I do not know if it will happen, but it does not matter, because I always love you."

After the party dispersed in the plaza, the group headed out to a restaurant.

More on Walla!

"Coaching the team, and more importantly - a championship": the birthday wish that came true

To the full article

Holon fans celebrate in the plaza outside the Toto Hall, tonight (Photo: Walla !, Ahrela Weisberg)

Rafi Manco, who was relegated last season to a league with a questionnaire in France, felt how the plate eluded him time and time again;

In 2016, he returned to the reigning champion Hapoel Jerusalem, but lost with her in the final.

During the following season, he was loaned to Hapoel Eilat, and then the Reds won again without him.

This time it happened, and he had a significant part in the hoisting.

In the two finals against Bnei Herzliya, he was passionate in the first quarter, finishing with 12 points and five rebounds in 24 minutes on average.

"All year long we have been underestimated and underestimated," Manco said.

"Nobody believed in that team, and we got to every game as an underdog, but that's what united us. All my life I've been waiting for this thing, for which I play basketball. I've been through so much in my career, and it's a dream come true for me."

Manco made it clear that he was not surprised by the win.

"Even before the season started, we defeated Ness Ziona in a training match, and then Niv Misgav approached me and Pnini and said, 'Guys, we're taking this year's championship.'

This is also a way to celebrate.

Ohad Holon in ecstasy on the basket (Photo: Danny Maron)

Team star Tyros Maggie had a hard time hiding the excitement.

"I do not know what to say ... We could not beat Upper Galilee during the season, nor Hapoel Jerusalem, and I told my friends before the playoffs that the wheel will turn. I did not know what will be in the final against Herzliya, but we had good chemistry and a good team. Our hard work It paid off. "

From the locker room, Maggie called in a video call to his wife Anka, who was staying at home with their eldest daughter who was born a week and a half ago.

"When her water went down and she was about to give birth, I had to go out to the game, and the coach's wife went to be with her. It was so beautiful because we have no family here. When I returned to Holon I told myself I would have to do everything to win the title, no matter what happened. "I owe something to this club for last season when I was injured. And here we are, champions."

The one who was left a little to the side, but did not take the smile off his face, was Adam Smith.

During the season the guard rose to quite a few key games, and was dubbed the "silent killer of the team" by Maggie and Joe Ragland, but in the playoffs was left out of the roster due to the foreigner limit.

"I've never been part of a puzzle with so many pieces. It's an amazing bunch, and I'm happy to be a part of it," Smith said.

He admitted that "I had a hard time sitting on the sidelines in the playoffs. There were games where I went crazy and wanted to get in. But when you win, everything becomes easier.

" We went through so much this season.

Games of be or cease, comebacks, Champions League, Premier League.

We stayed together all the time, and stayed hungry.

There were quite a few arguments and quarrels between us, but they came from the right place because we all wanted to succeed.

I have a part in this championship.

I also had big games, but these are the rules in the Israeli league, and not everyone can play.

I knew it when I came,

"That's why I play basketball."

Rafi Manko insanely (Photo: Danny Maron)

Next season, Holon will continue to appear in the Champions League, and its place in the home stage is guaranteed together with its runner-up from Herzliya.

Coach Guy Goodes has signed a contract for another season, and his assistant Amit Sharaf will continue to work under him, after rejecting an offer from Fenerbahce.

Ido Levitt from Hapoel Tel Aviv will join the professional team.

The only player holding a guaranteed contract is Chris Johnson, who signed an extension to the deal until 2024 as early as five months ago.

"Money is not everything, and I look for stability in life," he explained here.

But it is doubtful whether the word stability, and its continuity equivalent, will define the situation in the group's staff.

The club and Manco have the option of mutual withdrawal from the contract between them, although there is a high probability that he will remain;

Holon are interested in seeing Ragland continue, but it seems likely that the rest of the foreigners will leave.

Talks will soon begin with Niv Misgav about extending his contract, and the team has set a goal of signing a senior Israeli inside player, depending on the options that come up in the market.

The question of questions pertains to the future of Pnini, who has completed five seasons in purple with a particularly sweet taste.

He is finishing a contract, and in a large part of the playoffs his status has been devalued, so it is still unclear if he is in Goodes' professional plans for next season.

Participated in the preparation of the article: Ohad Schwerman

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• Hapoel Holon

• Rafi Manko