After last season we received one of the most fascinating and tight seasons in the history of Israeli basketball, the 2022/23 season in the Premier League will start today and we hope that it holds more big surprises for the fans of the sport in Israel.
Just before the opening whistle we will try to predict what it means for us.
Don't worry, the hat is already ready on the side.
The champion - Maccabi Tel Aviv
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Oded Ketch and Nikola Vycic have built a team that is very suitable for Israeli basketball and if they do not have unusual problems in the Euroleague or in the locker room, they look several levels above the other teams in the league.
The yellow squad has a talent and athleticism advantage in almost every position over all the opponents, and it will be a big surprise if Maccabi does not regain the two titles after a stalled season.
The descending - urban Kiryat Ata
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As one of the only teams in the league that currently does not intend to register a fifth foreigner, the newcomer was expected to build an impressive and higher quality Israeli squad.
It seems that only the advancement of Kerem Mash'or and Yotam Hanochi can save 'Ata' from a whole season of survival struggles.
On the other hand, Sharon Abrahami already surprised the National League last season, maybe this season he will do it on the main stage.
The surprise of the season - Hapoel Galil Upper
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It is true that after last season Galil will have to do something special to be considered a surprise again, but with four very high-quality foreigners alongside the two best Israelis in the league in 2021/22 and the industrial quiet in Kfar Bloom, the northerners have everything they need to have another very good season and finish in the top of the table.
Just have to see how they will cope with two games in a week.
Disappointment of the season - Hapoel Holon
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It's a bit hard to bet on the team that is on a big and constant rise as the season's disappointment, but after winning the championship and reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League, it seems that Holon has built a team that is not good enough, certainly in relation to what it has accustomed us to in recent years.
A mediocre Israeli squad and many question marks in the front line.
True, Holonia has already shown that she knows how to make changes on the fly and also has a lot of talent in the back line, but I think she will not live up to the high standards she set in the new era.
Ragland (right).
Holon will try to repeat the previous season, photo: Alan Shiver
Coach of the season - Danny Franco
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With five foreigners - believe me, Hapoel Tel Aviv will register five foreigners, soon - and a top-quality Israeli squad, the team should go far in all the enterprises (there is also a good chance that it will finish in the first eight places at home in the Eurocup), and greater credit than that will go to the coach on the lines who will try to bring a title First for the Reds after many years.
I don't know if Hapoel will win titles this season, but they will definitely be in the fight for them.
Franco, photo: Oded Karni
Player of the season - Xavier Manford
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As a direct continuation of this, it is likely that the player of the season will come from the ranks of Hapoel Tel Aviv. Manford should benefit from the concentration ability of Jacob Brown and the fact that at least 3-4 other players will draw fire and the attention of the opposing defenses. The Reds will go far and Manford will be the leading scorer responsible for this .
The foreigner who will be released - Jarl Martin
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The lanky forward is the only player on Maccabi Tel Aviv's roster who does not have European experience and it is not clear what qualities he is supposed to bring.
As it turns out, the yellows need to strengthen in position 4 to meet the goals.
Martin is also the cheapest foreigner in the team, so it will be easier to release him in order to make room for a replacement.
ATTENTION: Zach Hankins.
The center of Hapoel Jerusalem has suffered from physical problems in the last two years and it is not certain that he has left them all behind him.
The heaviness in the defense also does not match the high demands and standards of coach Džikić.
The breaking of the season - Or Cornelius
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Speaking of Džikić, the talented Israeli forward seems ripe for the real breakthrough.
Last season he established himself as a legitimate player in the league when he stood out for good in Gilboa, and now he seems fit and ready for the perfectionism of his strict coach.
The work with the Serbian and the certain vacuum in the Israeli squad of the team from the capital can do Cornelius good.
Cornelius (left).
Maybe this will be the breakthrough year, photo: Audi Citiat
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