Hapoel Holon

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This article is about the basketball club. For the football club, see Hapoel Holon F.C..
הפועל חולון
Hapoel Holon
הפועל חולוןHapoel Holon logo
Leagues Israel Premier League
Founded 1954
History Hapoel Holon
1954–present
Arena Holon Toto Hall
Arena Capacity 5,600
Location Holon, Israel
Team colors Purple and Yellow
         
President Mickey Dorsman
Head coach Dan Shamir
Championships 1 Israeli Championship
1 Israeli State Cup
Website hapoel-holon.co.il
Uniforms
Kit body yellowsides.png
Home jersey
Kit shorts yellowsides.png
Team colours
Home
Kit body thinpurplesides.png
Away jersey
Kit shorts purplesides.png
Team colours
Away

Hapoel Holon is a basketball club based in Holon, Israel. They play in Ligat HaAl, the top division of Israeli basketball. The club won their first championship in 2008, beating perennial champions Maccabi Tel Aviv in the final four final. Despite this success, they did not play in any European continental club competitions in 2008–09.

History

The club was founded in 1947 and was one of the founding clubs of the top division in 1954 when established, finishing second in their first season.

Recent history

Holon returned to the top division at the end of the 2006–07 season after playing for 7 years in the second and even the third divisions, and finished the 2007–08 regular season top of the table. They reached the play-off final, where they defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv 73–72 to claim their first championship, with Malik Dixon scoring the winning shot two seconds to the end of the game. PJ Tucker won the MVP title. It was the first time Maccabi Tel Aviv had failed to win the championship in 14 years.[1]

The club has reached the final of the State Cup six times, but did not pick up their first prize in that competition until 2009, when Brian Tolbert hit a three-pointer as time expired to give them a 69–68 win over Maccabi Haifa in that year's final.[2]

On January 16, 2010, the club has celebrated its 1000th game in Ligat HaAl (basketball) As of late however, the club has been under constant scrutiny after failing to pay the balance of last years staff and players throughout the end of the season. Although they've continued to sign new players, staff, and coaches for the upcoming 2011–2012 season, its apparent that they will not continue in the Israeli Lotto Premier League until they've satisfied all of their financial obligations from the 2010–2011 season.

Notable players

A Hapoel Holon home game
Holon Toto Hall, home of the club

Holon's best homegrown player was Ofer Eshed who played for the club between 1957 and 1972 and he is the all-time points leader in the team, with 7,495 points. Israel Elimelech (Nicknamed – The King) is considered to be the club's biggest symbol. Played in holon during two decades – and led the team to many successful seasons in the premier league. Played in the legendary home grown team of holon in the 1980s, with Niv Boogin (Doctor Boogin), Avi Maor, and the Israeli-American player Micheal Carter (The Crazy – Meshugah), who was known for driving the fans crazy. Other notable players were : Tzahi Peled, Danny Hadar, Rami Zeig and from very early days and the contingent of ex Egyptian players : Marcel Hefetz.

The team's 2 titles were won by 2 winning baskets, scored by the 2007–08 PG Malik Dixon, and 2008–09 SG Brian Tolbert. Dixon scored a two-pointer 2 seconds to the end of the championship match against Maccabi Tel-Aviv, leaving Maccabi a 2-second possession which they failed to score in. Tolbert scored a three-point buzzer beater in the cup final, after he got the ball from an inbound pass by Deron Washington.

Over the years the club has signed several former NBA players, including P.J. Tucker, Ken Bannister, Clarence Kea, Richard Dumas and Dominic McGuire. John Thomas, who has played in 2009–10 season, is also a former NBA player, with a history in five teams, such as New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks, etc.

Honours

Total titles: 2

Domestic competitions

  • Israeli Championships
    • Winners (1): 2008
    • Runners-up (2): 1954, 1955
    • semi-finals (9): 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1995, 1999, 2008, 2012
  • State Cup
    • Winners (1): 2009
    • Runners-up (5): 1959, 1961, 1986, 1991, 1995
  • League Cup (unofficial)
    • Runner-up (1): 2011

Season by season

Season Tier Division Pos. Postseason RS PO Israeli Cup European competitions
2013–14
1
Super League
7
Quarterfinalist 15–14 1–3 Round of 16
2014–15
1
Super League
3
Quarterfinalist 17–16 1–3 Round of 16

Colors and mascot

The team's colors are yellow and purple after a Jewish American fan of the Los Angeles Lakers donated uniforms in the colors of his favorite club. Before that, the team played in red and white uniforms, Like almost every 'Hapoel' Team.

For many years Holon's mascot was a tiger. It appeared on the team's logo for many years and in the 1990s the team's logo read 'Hapoel Tigers Holon'. After the team won the 2006/2007 National League championship, and upgraded to the first division, the old symbol was changed and redesigned, keeping Holon's symbol, the tiger.

Current roster

Hapoel Holon roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age
PF 1 Israel Bouchman, Carmel 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist.(1991-01-16)16 January 1991
PG 3 United States Wright, Chris 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist.(1989-11-04)4 November 1989
C 5 United States Smith, Jeremis 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist.(1986-05-17)17 May 1986
PG 6 Israel Izraeli, Guni 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist.(1984-11-18)18 November 1984
PF 7 Israel Goldenberg, Dor 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist.(1990-05-31)31 May 1990
PG 8 Israel Shamriz, Dudu 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist.(1991-06-07)7 June 1991
SG 11 Israel Shulman, Eyal 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist.(1987-09-17)17 September 1987
SF 15 Israel Reis, Ben 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist.(1990-01-04)4 January 1990
PF 18 Israel Sapir, Alon 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist.(1994-03-26)26 March 1994
F 21 United States Clyburn, Will 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist.(1990-05-17)17 May 1990
PF 43 United States Moser, Mike 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist.(1990-08-11)11 August 1990
PF 91 Israel Rosefelt, Isaac 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist.(1985-05-03)3 May 1985
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured Injured

RosterTransactions
Updated: December 20, 2015

References

External links