Hapoel Tel Aviv won its first European basketball title after defeating Gran Canaria 103-94 on Friday night in the EuroCup finals in Spain to sweep the series two games to none.
This marks the first time in 21 years that an Israeli team has won the EuroCup, the European Basketball League’s second-tier tournament. Hapoel Jerusalem won the 2004 title against Real Madrid.
Hapoel Tel Aviv will now move up into the premier European basketball competition, the EuroLeague, in which perennial powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv also participates.
Ofer Yanai purchased Hapoel Tel Aviv two years ago and declared his goal was to bring the team to the top of European basketball.
“I know that for you, we beat Valencia [in the semifinals] and the Canaries [in the finals], but for me, we beat Hamas,” Yanai told Israeli media.
“They tried to break our spirit, and they didn’t succeed. We made history tonight. History in Israeli sports, national history.”
Extra precautions
Yanai has vowed to continue building a team that can compete with the EuroLeague powerhouses next season.
Before the EuroCup finals, Israeli fans were warned by the Foreign Ministry to take extra precautions when traveling in Spain before the game.
Fans were asked to stay away from anti-Israel demonstrations, avoid traveling alone, and tone down displays of team symbols (such as scarves, shirts, flags, etc.) as well as Israeli and Jewish symbols when outside the stadium.