After a successful season in which they were stopped in the quarterfinals of the playoffs by Hapoel Jerusalem, Gilboa/Galil entered the current season with high expectations and a desire to continue the positive trend.
Unfortunately for the northern team and Rami Hadar, their new coach, the team that was built did not come together and deteriorated to the last place in the table.
Some of the foreigners did not impress and were replaced, and in Bagan Ner, a quiet and calm place on days like these, they began to fear the battles for survival and the struggles of relegation.
Throughout the first third of the season, the Northerners were missing London Frantz, the team's coordinator and the one who led it to the playoffs last season, until he was seriously injured in the groin, an injury that kept him out of action for seven months until about two weeks ago.
Throughout the summer, the club expressed a desire to continue the contract with the player for another season.
The American center who spent a short time in the NBA in the past alongside successful years in the development league and in France, connected quickly with the club and its people and won extraordinary appreciation for a foreigner in his first season in the team and in the country.
Frantz.
Received a lot of interest despite the injury, photo: Liron Moldovan
Despite the injury, several teams in the league and throughout Europe expressed interest in the player throughout the summer, with the most serious of the league's teams being Kiryat Ata, which submitted a considerable financial offer to the center in relation to its size, but in the end, the people of Gilboa/Galil managed to sign the center for two more years in an impressive step of expressing confidence. Despite not knowing when he will return to the courts.
Rami Hadar, who chose the coordinator as the last remnant of the cadre of foreigners who played in the club last season, believed in him very much and pushed to keep him: "We talked a lot during the summer about my performance last season. We exchange ideas in order to be coordinated. As the coordinator and leader on the field, it's good", shared Frantz.
The team's participation in the financial side of the rehabilitation process and the things that accompany it, along with the opportunity given to the player to stay at his home in Los Angeles until the end of October and concentrate on his recovery, contributed to closing the deal and extending the contract.
Frantz.
In the return game, photo: Rom Shaked
"I wanted to continue where I feel at home"
"I felt that this was the best decision for me as a person and for my career, an option that allows me the ability to concentrate on my rehabilitation in the best possible way. In addition, I wanted to continue in a place where I feel at home, which I succeeded in last year and connected with people and the community. I wanted to come back and do it again," he stated honestly Frantz in an exclusive interview with Israel Hayom throughout the months of the reconstruction.
The construction of the team in the summer and especially the signing of Josh Perkins raised quite a few question marks about the place that Frantz, a dominant point guard himself on the floor, will get when he returns.
A few weeks after returning to Israel and even before playing for the first time this season, Perkins was released from the club in a move that surprised no one: "Josh is a good player, but he didn't fit in here from the first moment. He is not a methodical player and Rami is looking for such. The personal connection there did not work, 3 And that he is a star in his own right and not every place or coach accepts that," said the source of the cave in detail.
Perkins.
Paid the price, photo: Maor Alxalsi
Frantz, who was quickly promoted to the starting point guard position, found himself carrying an even greater burden than he was used to in trying to rescue his team from the bottom and looked great in the first few games since he returned to the courts, averaging 15.0 points and 9.0 assists.
Tonight's game against Maccabi Tel Aviv will begin a series of difficult games for the last ranked team in the table, which will also meet Bnei Herzliya, Hapoel Jerusalem, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Hapoel Holon, Hapoel Haifa and Nes Ziona over the next six rounds, and will fight for every victory in order to improve its situation.
After two wins in the first nine rounds, the Northerners want to start a new way, and for that it will be required of London Frantz to carry the team once more on his back.
The team that patiently waited for him for seven long months needs him to lead them back to the best, in order to avoid relegation battles at the end of the season.
Rami Hadar
Wanted the coordinator, photo: Oded Karni
were we wrong
We will fix it!
If you found an error in the article, we would appreciate it if you shared it with us