Hapoel Tel Aviv will open tonight (Wednesday, 20:00. Live broadcast on Sport1) its performances in the group stage of the Eurocup when it hosts the London Lions at Shlomo Group Hall. The game will be the first of 18 for the Reds in the factory, with the first eight in the home of ten teams qualifying for the playoff stage which will be held using the knockout method.
Hapoel takes very seriously the British rival, which is considered inferior according to the club’s record, but its squad includes quite a few good players. The team has claimed in recent days that it will be difficult for them to deal with the inferiority complex in the home game, and they will have to find creative solutions for this.
“We are excited, starting a European campaign with Hapoel Tel Aviv here at home is not something that should be taken for granted,” said captain Bar Timor, “a few years ago it would have seemed very far away. We are excited to start, look in good shape and want to continue in this direction. There are many players here who were in teams that played in two factories, long seasons, Eurocup, of course Jordan McRae who was in the Euroleague for a while, and Israelis who did it. Time will pass, we will get used to a system for a season of 50 games or more, we are waiting for it. We are preparing for London for a few days, we have seen some Games before, we also saw games alone. This is a quality team with physically big players. They come from England, so it doesn’t look sexy, but they are a very good team.”
The red crowd bought all the tickets for tonight’s game, and is expected to provide a warm and homely atmosphere. At the same time, the fans continue the fundraising campaign so that the management can register a fifth foreigner for the league games. “I try to detach myself as much as I can, to be focused on what I need. We have a good enough staff to stand even in the Israeli framework with four foreigners, and certainly in the European framework with the addition of two foreigners,” Timur responded to what was happening, “whatever happens and whatever they decide, we will be honored Any decision. Personally, as a player who grew up in this country, I think there should be four foreigners in every team in the league, something uniform, without any financial matters, and I hope we stay that way.”
Some of the London Lions players landed in Israel already on Sunday, and some yesterday afternoon. Yesterday at noon the players enjoyed a few hours on the beaches of Tel Aviv and in the afternoon held the final training session at the Drive In.
All Hapoel Tel Aviv broadcasts will be broadcast live on the Sport1 channel package, which also broadcasts additional games in the Eurocup. The team that will broadcast the Hapoel Tel Aviv games during the season includes the broadcaster Sharon Davidovich and Zvika Sharaf in the position of commentator, as well as Meir Tapiro, and in the panel of commentators also Ish Walla! Sports Erhalla Weisberg.