Fresh off of capturing the EuroCup, Hapoel Tel Aviv visited the Israel President Isaac Herzog at his residence in Jerusalem, where the team was honored for winning the European championship which will also allow the club to play in next season’s Euroleague.
President Herzog began the proceedings as he welcomed the club home.
“It’s a huge honor to welcome Hapoel Tel Aviv who have brought us enormous honor and we wish you much success in the Euroleague, we are very proud of you. During the war we heard many stories of fans who were kidnapped and who were injured. Sports creates a family, a community and I believe that the entire sports family is praying to see all of those kidnapped return home as quickly as possible. You are giving us encouragement with this huge victory.
“I want to thank the fans, who were willing to go from one country to another and proved to all that they would even attend home games that are played on the road. The fans were there, even on the holidays, and went all the way to Gran Canaria. I want to thank Ofer Yannay and the entire team management, the coach and all of the officials who took the team that was just a group of players and turned it into a sports powerhouse. I hope that you will bring the Euroleague championship trophy here as well.”
Hapoel Tel Aviv owner Ofer Yannay commented: “I want to say thank you for a simple thing, that this Wednesday we are not in Samokov. I had only been the owner of Hapoel Tel Aviv for a few weeks and then October 7 happened and it became much more. We lost 53 fans on that day and the team became a hope for the people. When the season began I knew we wouldn’t play here in Israel, so I asked if it was possible to win the EuroCup without playing at home. When I looked into it I was told that it was impossible, but then I was told that European basketball did in fact provide an example of this happening. In 1999, Partizan won without playing a game at home, they called it a road championship.”
“This year we wrote a new chapter, Hapoel won the ‘Road Cup.’ We beat teams like Gran Canaria, Turk, Valencia and others without playing at home in what is an amazing story that couldn’t have happened without a few people.
The sacrifices paving the way for Israel's wins
Tzachi, our CEO, who turned Samokov into a home and faced a lot of challenges, Dimitrios Itoudis who joined a team he didn’t build in the middle of the season and became a leader. Stefanos Dedas, who went from head coach to assistant, this cup is yours no less. We wouldn’t have won this title without all of you and above all we wouldn’t have done it without the sacrifice of the players.
Yannay continued: “We wouldn’t have done it without the ‘Red Army’ of fans. I don’t think there’s an example of such a thing, the last title we won was 32 years ago and your loyalty to the team is unparalleled. I want to point out that the last championship was in 1969 – think how happy the fans will be if we win the championship. I want to thank the president for the invitation. We hope to be here again next year, for winning the Euroleague.”Reds’ coach Dimitris Itoudis also shared his thoughts.
“I’m very excited and it’s an honor for me to be here. It’s a great honor to represent Hapoel Tel Aviv and it wouldn’t have happened without Ofer Yannay’s passion, vision and his perseverance. He is an amazing owner who invests a lot of time in basketball, he is always available for us and it is an honor that he is with us.
“We are foreigners and do not have Israeli passports, but we represent Hapoel and Israel with great respect. The players play with heart, whether they are imports or Israeli, we became one. The players became one, we have synergy. Finally, we are waiting to play in Tel Aviv, but if that does not happen we would still be happy to represent Israel and Hapoel. Sport unites, it is the most important thing regardless of where we come from, it is truly most important.”
President Herzog commented: “This is a golden opportunity to say thank you to all of the foreigners who stayed here with us in very challenging times, we are grateful and the Israelis will never forget those who stayed with us. I would like to thank the Greek government and the people of Greece for their friendship. When they say that sport unites, it is beyond that and it is true.”
Team captain Bar Timor also spoke.
“We are very happy and excited to be here and I speak on behalf of all the players to say thank you to the coaching, medical and logistical staff, you let us concentrate on basketball and of course it starts with you. Ofer, you let us dream big. This title is yours.
“The Hapoel community is the most important and it has been badly injured during the war. We have met people who lost the most precious of things and we know that winning heals the heart a little bit. Winning the cup is important, but the most important thing is that all those being held hostage return home.”