1. How a wheel spins.
About three and a half years ago, Rafi Manko was at the low point of his career.
Out of nowhere, to his great surprise, in the middle of his second season at Hapoel Tel Aviv the team informed him that he was released.
The issue reached a pleasant level when the player was not even allowed to train with the team until a new goal was found.
To this day, it is not clear exactly what was behind the decision to give up a leading Israeli at a young age who could still grow with the club.
Beyond the professional mistake, one thing is clear: to say the least, these were the bad moments of the management at Hapoel Tel Aviv. The wheel turned big in less than four years and Manko is a Maccabi Tel Aviv player and a Euroleague player.
Not everyone would have recovered quickly from this blow.
Not only did the difficult period not break him, but since then he has only taken off.
Prior to arriving at Maccabi, he occupied a permanent place in the fifth team of the national team and a championship with Hapoel Holon.
Many thanks to Oded Katash Manko came to Maccabi Tel Aviv, and it is good for him that he has his back when he arrives at the yellow club. Gave an excellent season and was named the best player of the season.
Oded Katash.
Reunion with Manco, Photo: Alan Schieber
When Katsch came to the team and made his revolution he turned Manco into a five-man player and a leading small forward.
Since he occupied the position and to this day he is there.
The coach's confidence in the player continued even when he came to coach Maccabi.
Two things (apart from the financial matter) led those who won the championship just a few weeks ago to leave a club like Hapoel Holon and move to Maccabi: the opportunity to play in the Euroleague and Katsch.
Clean up in Eilat.
Became the leading small forward, Photo: Maor Elkelsi
3. And yet Manko arrives at the unknown.
In Holon, he was a quintet player, a key figure and the leading Israeli.
At Maccabi, he reaches a busy staff, with quite a few players and a number of foreigners in his position, such as: Dron Hilliard, Austin Hollins and Bonzi Coulson.
Katsch was there for him and did not bring him to the decoration, but he is expected to have a very hard fight for every minute of a game, probably in the Euroleague.
It will not be similar to his status in Holon and there is quite a bit of risk here.
Were we wrong?
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