The summer that comes after winning the state championship is supposed to be special, upgrading, happy and encouraging.
And the season after is supposed to be different - to rise as a reigning champion, to play in an effort to defend a title and not just to aspire to win it, to lean on the achievement and receive encouragement and inspiration from it.
This is especially true in Hapoel Holon, which has significant continuity - with a coach, three fine foreigners (Ragland, Johnson and Dalton), another who returned after a year in exile (Harris) and two senior Israelis (Mishgav and Bordion), who all remain on the staff, providing identity and character In front of the fans, and make it possible to start the season from a much higher connection and comfortably integrate the new players.
Joe Ragland.
Continues in purple, photo: Barney Ardov
But for Hapoel Holon, every summer something happens.
And for an Israeli champion other than Maccabi Tel Aviv - the championship often becomes a financial burden and professional pressure.
Despite the beautiful continuity, the two leading Israelis and Holon representatives for the Israeli national team (Rafi Manko and Guy Panini) moved to the ranks claiming the Mid Eliyahu title, and Tyrus Magee signed a huge contract in China.
Two other Israelis (Blazer and Nimrod Levy) chose to play elsewhere, and on the shoulders of Shawn Dawson falls the great responsibility of the senior Israeli, the social leader and the link between foreigners and Israelis.
He is also supposed to professionally cover the three-point shooting, which was the key of Holonia to the championship.
Sean Dawson.
A lot of responsibility for him, photo: Audi Citiat
The expectation of a financial upgrade also took an unexpected blow, with Yount's departure from the main sponsor position.
Although the Holon management leveraged the championship to sign an impressive number of sponsors that balanced the budget, it is still looking for a main sponsor.
It is very reminiscent of the previous championship year, where the main sponsor only arrived towards the end of the season.
For the well-wishers only - the 2008 champion was called the Hapoel "Mooded Paleyt" Holon.
The team managed to sell about 2,300 subscriptions this summer, about 30% more than last season, and relative to the size and nature of Holonia's potential audience - this is an achievement, with a slight disappointment on its side.
But we must not get used to the champion not being able to upgrade, especially when you see what the state football championship did for Maccabi Haifa.
The fact that the EuroLeague is a closed league must change, and perhaps now, with the appointment of Diane Bodiroga as CEO, the league administration, in cooperation with other countries, will be able to demand at least four tickets for the champions of the unrepresented leagues to play in the qualifiers - as was the case with Gilboa/Galil after the championship in 2010 .
Goods.
Will want to forget the summer with the Israel national team, photo: Alan Shiver
The fight for the local championship must be backed by significant economic benefits, and one of them is the possibility of playing in the top European league, at least.
On the professional level - Holon lost all the training games, but she is really not excited.
The team changed the concept a little and brought two big players in the paint.
Building a game method that is different from last season's run-and-gun is something that takes time, especially when Guy Goodes was with the team throughout the preparation period and joined only a week ago.
To the joy of Holon, she has Amit Sharaf in his sixth season with the team, and he is a second coach, and not just an assistant coach - so Goodes gets a team in good shape and with a good connection.
Hapoel Holon will never be caught off guard or resting on its laurels.
It's in her nature to start from the bottom, against all odds, take hits and get up.
And so, this summer was standard for her.
The championship in June gave the fans happiness, faith and strength that will be enough for at least another decade, and tonight you will already see them in concert in Hadera.
This is true for any champion, and especially for Holonia: never underestimate the heart of a champion.
Hapoel Holon waves the plate, photo: Alan Shiver
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