End of an impressive career: Gal Mekel is expected to announce his retirement on Wednesday
The 34-year-old captain of the Israeli national team, who has not played in a team setting since February, decided to hang up his shoes and give up offers he had from the Premier League
Almond light
24/10/2022
Monday, October 24, 2022, 5:03 p.m
Share on Facebook
Share on WhatsApp
Share on Twitter
Share by email
Share in general
Comments
Comments
Tiktekno, summary of today's events in sport 24.10 (Sport1)
Israel national team captain Gal Mekel is expected to announce this Wednesday his official retirement from basketball at the age of 34, at a special press conference announced by the basketball association today (Monday).
Mekel debated a lot since the end of the unsuccessful European Championship campaign with the Israeli national team, whether to retire or sign with one of the Premier League teams that were interested in him, but decided to hang up his shoes at a relatively early age.
The player has not played in the team since February when he was injured in the Spanish Andorra uniform and was then released from the team.
Mekel (1.92) moved at a young age between the youth departments of Hapoel Tel Aviv, Ramat Hasharon and Maccabi Tel Aviv where he played until he was a teenager.
He tried his luck at Wichita State University for two years before returning to Maccabi Tel Aviv, and was immediately loaned to Hapoel Gilboa/Galil in the summer of 2008. In his first season, he became a leading player in the Premier League and returned to the Yellows at the end of the summer, while at the same time he was invited to the Israeli team for EuroBasket 2009.
After a short period at Maccabi Mekel left and returned to Gilboa winning the championship at the end of that season with the team.
After another season at Gan Ner, Mekel went to Europe for the first time and signed with Benton Treviso in Italy.
He started the 2012/13 season outside the courts, but during the season he joined Maccabi Haifa and won another championship at the end of that season.
made the most of the maximum.
Gal Mekel celebrates the championship with Maccabi Haifa (Photo: Adrian Herbstein)
Mackel's career soared to other heights in the 2013/14 season after impressing at trials in the United States and signing with the Dallas Mavericks.
He was injured in January of that season and rarely played from that stage.
In December 2014, he signed a contract with the New Orleans Pelicans but was released after a few games.
Mackel continued his journey when he signed with Russian Nizhny Novgorod until the end of the 2014/15 season, and the following season he signed with Red Star Belgrade, but did not work out and was released during the season when he signed back with Maccabi Tel Aviv for a three and a half year contract.
Even in his second term in Yellow Stick he did not know success and after a year and a half he left for the Spanish Gran Canaria.
He embarked on a European journey from this stage, playing for Zenit St Petersburg, Reggio Emilia and Málaga, before his final career stop, Spain's Andorra.
Mekel played for the Israeli national team in five European championships, twice won the title of player of the season in the Premier League, won two state championships and two state cups.
He played only six seasons in the Premier League where he scored 1,470 points.
good to know (in advance)
The solution to knee pain is closer than ever - thanks to technology in the shoe
Submitted by Apostrophe
sport
basketball
Super League
Tags
Gal Mekel
