"When we heard the news, Olsey reassured us"

Ulsi Perry's friends from Maccabi Tel Aviv are by his side at the hospital non-stop.

The surgeon told of the difficulty he experienced because of his admiration for the former star.

And the children who practice under him sent him congratulations on his recovery.

Mickey Berkowitz: "Just like he was a winner on the field, so he will win this time too"

Ahrela Weisberg

08/07/2022

Friday, 08 July 2022, 14:00

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The room where Ulsey Perry is hospitalized at Sheba Hospital has in recent weeks become a meeting point for legendary basketball players.

Although almost 40 years have passed since the mythical No. 8 was last dropped from the field, the cohesive group of Maccabi Tel Aviv from the seventies and eighties has remained together.

This morning (Friday), Motti Aroasti came to visit him, and when he left - Mickey Berkowitz was already on his way to Tel Hashomer.

Tal Brody and Shuki Schwartz also come to him regularly, even before he underwent surgery to amputate part of his leg.

"It's not like we've put together a shift board," says Arousti. "Getting in a line like this, you get hit. But he felt bad and hurt, and there was no choice. He will be fine, he has been through a few things in his life."

Olsey has been in the hospital for almost three months, and he is not expected to be released in the coming month.

"We come to him, go out with him for a bit of a walk on the grass, and for me it goes without saying," Berkowitz adds.

"We are teammates, and we have been like that for a lifetime. We have been together for decades, we have won European Cups, and I just love him - as a person and later as a player on the team."

More on Walla!

Olsey Perry: "I gave my body to the State of Israel and received no less back"

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"After every game, everyone asks him for a selfie. Even if we lost."

Ulsi Perry and Moti Bar-Noy (to the right) with the youth group in Ganei Tikva (Photo: courtesy of those photographed)

Perry's surgery did not come as a complete surprise;

His friends and associates have known about it for about two weeks, and are trying to digest the gospel.

"The surgeon told Olsey's partner, Ahuva, that he grew up on him and admired him as a player, and that he would do everything to help him get through it in peace," says Maccabi Tel Aviv's youth director general Alon Ben Zaken

. Perry aneurysm in the aorta, and operated on urgently. "I was sure it was my end," he told me in an interview I had with him in the past. "I saw death before my eyes, and I was scared.

I was traumatized, and for a year I did not leave the house.

"In those days, Maccabi Tel Aviv enlisted to help him, and since then he has started working in the youth department; first as a kind of mentor, and then as a coach.

Therefore, even though he has disappeared from the spotlight, Perry remains connected to the game of basketball in general and to Maccabi Tel Aviv in particular.

Every Wednesday, at seven in the morning, he would show up at the Hadar Yosef hall to coach the club's high-profile players;

And he spent most of his time in youth teams where he coached, especially with his good friend Motti Bar-Noy, who testifies that "Olsey loves doing this, and it is important to him."

"We remained friends for life."

Moti Aroasti, Ulsi Perry and Miki Berkovich in those days, with the late Moshe Dayan (Photo: Government Press Office, Yaakov Saar)

In the past year, Maccabi Tel Aviv has opened a district youth group in Ganei Tikva.

Perry and Bar-Noy worked closely with young players in grades 11-12, none of whom were born when Olsey starred and won championships and trophies - but they all absorbed the stories from their parents.

"Every game in the district league, and it doesn't matter at all against who we played and whether we lost or won, ends with dozens of selfie requests from Ulsie," smiles Bar-Noy.

The actors themselves, aged 17 and 18, did not remain indifferent to the situation and sent congratulations to Peri.

"We were sorry to hear the news," Amit Tzemach wrote to him.

"We wish you complete healing and hope you find the strength to continue. We are all with you in our thoughts."

"The parents and children really adore him, and he gets a lot of respect," Bar-Noy adds.

"He knows and feels it, and appreciates every moment. The doctors tried to avoid amputation through other treatments, but were unsuccessful. This man was at the top of the world, and has no ego or feelings of inferiority. Relative to the situation, he received the good news. He understands that he "He will have to learn to live with the new reality. The truth is that from the moment we heard about what was going to happen, he calmed us down."

Berkowitz, in his unique way, concludes: "He is a huge winner, and just as he won on the field, he will win it too. He is going through a difficult time, but I know him and know he will find a way to overcome and get back to himself."

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