The Israeli team has been in full swing in recent years, with a depth that has not been the case for many, many years – in almost every position. But it seems that it is impossible to put together the ideal staff without putting the Tomer Ginat, Who in recent years has become one of the best players in blue and white. “Getting to the team is always fun, meeting all the friends who have been going with me for years,” Ginat says in an interview with the sports channel’s website. “Because I play in Europe, so returning to Israel is even more special, refreshing.”
There is great expectation from the current generation of the team. Do you also feel that something big can be done?
“We have a great team that has run together for several years, from 2017 when the rejuvenation process began. From window to window we play better basketball, we have more fun, we can do beautiful things together. We have tremendous potential, especially knowing that there are some players not with us now “I think we can do great things and I believe we will do it too.”
Because of the amount of good players, do you feel any competition for a place on the roster?
“Obviously there is competition, because everyone wants to be on the team since he started playing basketball. There is training of 17-18 players here but in the end there is only room for 12 players in the game, so there is a war, but a healthy war. Every player wants to prove and show, “In the end you fight with good players and you try to be better than them. So there is always a desire to get better and from there comes the competition. But in the end we are all friends and all for the team to make people happy. There will be no full hall here on Friday and we hope to make the fans happy .
The team did not lose in this hall, what is so special about it?
“This hall is very powerful when it is full, it has a very homely feeling. You hear the crowd, there is a feeling of home. There is a reason why the team did not lose here in any official game, hopefully we will keep it in this window as well.”
A more complete player
Last summer, after four years at Hapoel Tel Aviv, Ginat – who was also the captain – packed a suitcase and went to Europe for the first time when he signed for the Metropolitan Paris. And at least so far, it’s one of the best decisions he’s made in his career. “The very fact that I’ve been playing for a second season in France has changed me as a player,” he says. “The thinking of my game is different, also the form of the game.”
How has the last season and a half in Europe changed you?
“I feel a much better player, I understand the game a lot better, I’m part of a winning team. Last season we reached the quarterfinals of the EuroCup and the current season is also very good. To be part of a team like that, when you know there are deep staff “I automatically make you a better player. I was also lucky to play under two very good coaches, with Yuri Zdovech last season and with Vincent Cola, who has been coaching the French national team for many years. I learned a lot from each of them.”
In what elements have you improved?
“I got very strong physically and mentally, and I think the defense, too, and my understanding of the defensive game, got a lot better. I really feel more complete. A more complete player, a more complete person, I’m very happy about that.”
Coming soon to the Euroleague?
Ginat has so far this season 8.6 points alongside 4.2 rebounds in the league, while in the EuroCup his numbers are even better – 9.6 points and 5.7 rebounds. And it all happens in a winning team, which leads the French league. Ginat does not have a contract for next season, but his agent Avi Zilberman has already received a number of inquiries from European teams, including Metropolitan, which wants to see the Israeli forward continue in the media. “I feel like I’ve made crazy progress in the last two years, I’m a much better player,” Ginat declares.
The next step is the Euroleague?
“I can play in the Euroleague, I have no doubt. It is true that I have more things to improve in the game, but even when I came to the Eurocup people were not sure if I belong to this level, but in the last two years I show yes and deal with it successfully. I feel ready to play in the Euroleague, hope “I will be able to get there with my current team, through the league or through the Eurocup. We have so many more games and challenges and there is still a long way to go, but yes, I feel ready and mature, and hope it happens.”
You also had a demand at the end of last season and chose to stay in Metropolitans. Why?
“When you continue a second year at the same club you feel different, more comfortable, knowing the management and people around the club, the city you live in. Overall I came to a club that is on the way up. They offered me to extend a mid-year contract and I saw no reason not to agree. “Very happy with this decision, it was a great decision and I am very happy to be where I am. Hope to finish this season as we started it.”
What is it like to play outside of Israel for two seasons?
“It’s a different deal than I knew. I used to live in Bat Aviv, close to family and friends. I admit I did not think playing in Europe would be so difficult, being far from everyone, playing in a different country, not speaking the language. You have to deal with people who speak French every day And they do not like to speak English so much. The distance is also difficult, on Saturdays and holidays it is always strange to be away from home but I also learned to do it. Luckily my amazing partner is with me for the last two years in Paris and we experience it together. Bottom line we enjoy, good life In Paris, there is not much to complain about, even though the distance is difficult. “
“Suddenly I realized how difficult it is for foreign players”
Speaking of difficulty – Ginat revealed during the season the mental struggle with the distance from home and the challenges that athletes go through, in a number of very personal posts on Twitter. “It took me a while to digest, but in the end it dawns on you that this period is not something short that passes,” Ginat says. You’re in a foreign place for ten months, for all that that implies, and the very realization that it’s happening, it was shaky. I got the cap and dealing with the situation started. Every day I would talk to people who helped me, even a psychologist. Fortunately, there were people who knew how to help me deal with this situation and today I have been elsewhere for a long time. “
1. A little over a year ago, Noa and I packed our lives (and dogs), and set out on an adventure in Paris.
We set out to fulfill a dream I had dreamed of all my life, to play basketball and do the thing I love most in the world – at the highest levels pic.twitter.com/OCbZ7CjhRe
— Tomer Ginat (@TomerGinat) November 22, 2021
Why did you choose to share it on Twitter?
“Because it’s very important. During my career in Israel, I got to talk to foreign actors that I felt were difficult for them. I did not really understand what the story behind it was, and only when I went abroad did I understand what they were talking about. I got to talk about it with Adrian Banks and Jarl McNeil, players who played with me in the country, and I shared with them that I feel exactly how they felt when they played in a foreign country. I believe more players are dealing with it and less sharing, less talking about it and less acknowledging that it is something that is happening. It’s enough that someone heard it, felt the same things and it helped him somehow – I did mine. “
In general this issue, of the mental difficulties among athletes, is more and more discussed
“I think every player experiences it at one point or another. Athletes face a lot of pressure, it’s a little hard to understand sometimes from the outside, but dealing with the pressure and chasing the next challenge is very difficult. Sometimes you have to make a ‘stop’ for a moment and that’s something to talk about. “It’s good that players are talking about it, everyone who participates helps others who experience it.”
“Not everyone thought I could be where I am today”
On Friday, the Israeli team will meet the German team, and for Ginat this is an opportunity to make some kind of correction. In the World Cup qualifiers, in September 2018, Israel led 90:91 over Germany, and Ginat was sent to the line with 0.4 seconds on the clock. He scored the first and tried to intentionally miss the second, but hit the board and the ball went to the Germans. Ginat was also part of the defensive possession that allowed Maxi Culver to set 92:92, and in overtime Israel disbanded completely. “This moment in Germany changed me a lot and helped me a lot going forward,” he says. “It is clear to me that before another game against Germany they will talk about it, because this is Germany again, but this game is behind me, I just learned from it.”
How did the moment change you?
“It was very significant for me. I went back to my hotel room after this game and I was very upset, but I can say that I grew out of it. This mistake was not a basketball mistake, it was a lack of concentration. Something happened there and I managed to get out of it nicely. This moment is “A mental turning point for me and I do not look back.”
Which burns you more – success in the national team or reaching the Euroleague?
“You can not compare, I would be happy to do both. A team is a different and special feeling, to represent the country is the dream of every player. It is very important to me personally and I really want it for myself, but at the same time I really want to be a Euroleague player and prove “I belong there. I want to do it for myself. I would be happy to do both.”
Do you ever look back and feel satisfied with where you came from?
“Not yet. In the end I will do it because I went through a slightly different path from a lot of players, even from those on the squad. Not everyone thought I could be where I am today, and I say that to say the least. But I always knew and those close to me knew and believed in me “But I have no doubt that this process is a beautiful process that has not yet ended. I hope I still have somewhere to go and where to go and I hope that good things will happen.”