Hapoel Tel Aviv (basketball)
Encyclopedia
Hapoel
Hapoel
Hapoel is an Israeli sport association. It was established in 1926 as a union of the Histadrut, and represented the workers class...

 Tel Aviv B.C.
is an Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

i basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 club
Sports club
A sports club or sport club, sometimes athletics club or sports association is a club for the purpose of playing one or more sports...

. The second most successful side in Israeli basketball, The club Owned by Hapoel Tel Aviv Supporters Trust and is currently in Liga Leumit
Liga Leumit (basketball)
Liga Leumit is the second tier of league basketball competition in Israel, below the Israeli Basketball Super League.-League system:The league contains 14 clubs that compete in a home-and-away round-robin. At the end of the season, the top eight clubs advance to the play-offs. The first round is...

, the Second tier.

History

The club was founded in 1935, as part of the Tel Aviv branch of the "Hapoel" sports cooperative, the sports department of the Histadrut
Histadrut
HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael , known as the Histadrut, is Israel's organization of trade unions. Established in December 1920 during the British Mandate for Palestine, it became one of the most powerful institutions of the State of Israel.-History:The Histadrut was founded in...

 labor union.
The 15 years following the foundation of the Israeli national league in 1954 are still considered as the golden age in the club's history. During which it has won most of its trophies and risen to become a dominant force in Israeli basketball. However, since then the club has failed to repeat its past success and was forced to watch as its bitter city rival Maccabi Tel aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv (basketball)
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv B.C. is a professional Israeli basketball club based in Tel Aviv. The team plays in three leagues: the Euroleague, the Israeli Basketball Super League, and the Adriatic League....

 beat them constantly on the race to trophies and European glory.

In 1980 the club inaugurated its home venue of Hapoel arena at Ussishkin st. in place of the open court that Hapoel used for home games since 1953, named after the adjacent street bearing the name of Menachem Ussishkin, a famous Histadrut
Histadrut
HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael , known as the Histadrut, is Israel's organization of trade unions. Established in December 1920 during the British Mandate for Palestine, it became one of the most powerful institutions of the State of Israel.-History:The Histadrut was founded in...

 leader. The uncomfortable conditions, along with the fact that Hapoel Tel Aviv's fans are considered amongst the most fanatic in Israeli sports, has contributed to the fact Ussishkin was known for an extremely hostile atmosphere for visiting teams.

In 1995 the Histadrut
Histadrut
HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael , known as the Histadrut, is Israel's organization of trade unions. Established in December 1920 during the British Mandate for Palestine, it became one of the most powerful institutions of the State of Israel.-History:The Histadrut was founded in...

 decided to suspend financial support of all its "Hapoel" sports teams, including Hapoel Tel Aviv. The club was sold to a group of private businessmen and since 1998 until 2009 (with a short pause for the 2003-04 season), it was under the ownership of Shaul Eizenberg, an Israeli businessman and former press officer of the Israel Football Association
Israel Football Association
The Israel Football Association , also known as IFA, is the governing body of football in Israel. It organizes the football leagues, Israeli Premier League, Israeli State Cup, Toto Cup and the Israeli national football team. The association is based in Ramat Gan...

. Except for three years of financial support by Russian multi millionaire Vladimir Gusinsky
Vladimir Gusinsky
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Gusinsky is a Russian media baron, is known as the founder of Media-Most holding that included Most Bank, the NTV channel, the newspaper Segodnya and magazines.-Life and career:Gusinsky was born in Moscow....

, the club has since consistently suffered from financial difficulties, mainly due to poor management. The result of this was an immediate deterioration in the club's status and stability, which led to relegation to the second league, in 1996-97, 1998–99 and 2005-06. During this period the club also conceded its most humiliating defeat of all times by the hands of no less than local rivals Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv (basketball)
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv B.C. is a professional Israeli basketball club based in Tel Aviv. The team plays in three leagues: the Euroleague, the Israeli Basketball Super League, and the Adriatic League....

 by a staggering 54 points difference. This being part of a previously unthinkable streak of 9 defeats in one season to Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv (basketball)
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv B.C. is a professional Israeli basketball club based in Tel Aviv. The team plays in three leagues: the Euroleague, the Israeli Basketball Super League, and the Adriatic League....

.

In 2006 Eizenberg decided to stop funding the team and thus the team started the season in the second division.
The situation wasn't improved in the coming season, in which the team, built almost entirely of youth players was relegated to the third division, winning only two games all season.

Local rivalries

For years "Hapoel" and "Maccabi" Tel Aviv were considered the top two clubs of Israeli basketball. The Local derby
Local derby
In many countries the term local derby, or simply just derby means a sporting fixture between two, generally local, rivals, particularly in association football...

 matches between the two teams were always considered to be the most prestigious games in Israeli sports, and ones which led to a bitter and hateful atmosphere between fans of both clubs, often resulting in acts of mutual violence and Hooliganism
Hooliganism
Hooliganism refers to unruly, destructive, aggressive and bullying behaviour. Such behaviour is commonly associated with sports fans. The term can also apply to general rowdy behaviour and vandalism, often under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs....

.
The tension between both clubs reached its peak in the 1980s. During this era they met for several times in the league's Play-off finals and state cup finals. Probably the most famous meeting came in the best of three League Championship Finals in April, 1985. Behind the outstanding play of Mike Largey, Hapoel Tel Aviv won the first game in convincing fashion leading by as much as 25 points late in the second half. Largey always played well against Maccabi Tel Aviv having beaten them 5 times in the 4 years that he played for Hapoel Tel Aviv. Prior to his arrival, Hapoel Tel Aviv had not beaten Maccabi Tel Aviv in 17 straight games. Needless to say, the Hapoel Tel Aviv fans were very confident that this was their year to win the League Championship. The second game started with Largey picking up where he left off from the first game. Then towards the beginning of the second half, after play had stopped for a loose ball foul, Maccabi Tel Aviv's Motti Aroesti shoved his hand into the face of Largey. Largey responded immediately and threw Aroesti to the ground. Afterwards, both players were ejected from the game and were automatically suspended from playing in game 3. Largey was far more valuable to Hapoel Tel Aviv then Aroesti was to Maccabi Tel Aviv and, not surprisingly, Maccabi Tel Aviv went on to win Games 2 and 3. To this day, most Hapoel Tel Aviv fans are convinced that Maccabi Tel Aviv planned this provocation as a way to deal with its nemesis. These matches are still regarded as of the most exciting and attractive in Israeli basketball history.

During the years as Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv (basketball)
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv B.C. is a professional Israeli basketball club based in Tel Aviv. The team plays in three leagues: the Euroleague, the Israeli Basketball Super League, and the Adriatic League....

 strengthened its dominance in Israeli basketball and its status as the almost-eternal champions, "Hapoel" fans accused their rival's management of various wrongful doing, including offering bribes to referees, signing contracts with rival players during the regular season and playoff series, and receiving exaggerated funds from state television for broadcasting rights. With the decline of "Hapoel" in recent years the matches between both clubs became somewhat one-sided. This of course only led to the strengthening of hatred and repeated violent acts between the fans.

(2005/06) season

In a controversial decision, Hapoel Tel Aviv decided to hold its home matches at Yad Eliyahu Arena. With its current 11,000 seats capacity it is recognized for years to be the home of rivals Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv (basketball)
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv B.C. is a professional Israeli basketball club based in Tel Aviv. The team plays in three leagues: the Euroleague, the Israeli Basketball Super League, and the Adriatic League....

. This decision follows a statement by the club's owner Shaul Eizenberg which stated "Hapoel" must move to a larger arena in order to repeat its past glory days. Also contributed to this decision were a change in policy of local police and municipal authorities. These declared the Ussishkin Arena to be unsafe and declared plans for demolishing it and building a boardwalk in place of the arena. The arena was demolished in 2007, despite a campaign by fans to preserve it.

This move is extremely opposed by the club's fans. After years of blaming the club's owner with its continuing deterioration, this move which is considered by most fans as treason of the club's legacy, caused them to announce they will not support the club in the new arena and under the current owners. The owner in return announced the club's fans to be "Hooligans who oppose progress" and announced the club will now try and seek new fans.

Despite the fact that the team has managed to stay in the Israeli first league, it played the 2006–07 season in the second league due to lack of funds. The lack of funds and managerial disorders, a completely new team based on youth players led to dismay and the team finished last in the second league and was relegated to the third division at the end of that season.

Hapoel Usishkin Period (2007-2010)

Hapoel Ussishkin, The new fan owned and run team was founded in July 2007 and registered in the Israeli Liga Bet Dan District (5th tier), by supporters of Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. following the club's relegation to the Israeli 3rd tier, and after years characterized by the lack of financial support by the club's owner Shaul Eizenberg and poor management, which led it to bankruptcy, and finally relegation to the 4th tier, and most notably for the demolition of the historic Ussishkin Arena.
The demolition was only made possible after a settlement between city officials and Eizenberg which went ahead and signed the agreement against the will of the majority of supporters and for a small compensation fee. This was the trigger for the foundation of the new club.
In December 2009 the original men's senior team announced its disbandment followed by the fans team's trust buying the rights to the Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. brand thorgh a third party. The name change was approved by the supporter trust in the following months, with the team promotion for the 2010-11 national league
Liga Leumit (basketball)
Liga Leumit is the second tier of league basketball competition in Israel, below the Israeli Basketball Super League.-League system:The league contains 14 clubs that compete in a home-and-away round-robin. At the end of the season, the top eight clubs advance to the play-offs. The first round is...

 season.

2007-2008 season

Backed with an astronomical budget in 5th tier terms of over 300,000 NIS
Israeli new sheqel
The Israeli New Shekel is the currency of the State of Israel. The shekel is divided into 100 agorot...

 The team finished its first season with a perfect record of 22-0 and had qualified to the 4th division. The club also managed to win another title by taking the Israeli 5th Division Union Cup, also without losing a single game.

2008-2009 season

This season was also finished with a perfect record, 22-0, and the team qualified to the 3rd division. In Thursday, April 30, 2009, the team won the Israeli 4th and 3rd Division Union Cup, winning over Hapoel Keffar-Sabba in the final game.

2009-2010 season

Before the 2009-2010 season started, it was decided that Hapoel Ussishkin will not play in the same district as Hapoel Tel Aviv, who plays in the 3rd division as well, thus avoiding an intriguing match up. The team qualified to Liga Leumit
Liga Leumit
Liga Leumit is the second tier in the Israeli football league system below the Premier League.-Structure:There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the lowest-placed team are relegated to Liga Alef while the highest-placed team from Liga Alef are promoted in their place...

 with a perfect record and won the Israeli 4th and 3rd Division Union Cup, winning over Elitzur Kohav-Yair/Keffar-Sabba in the final game.

Ownership and legal status

In June 2007 the new team was founded and registered in the Israeli 5th tier (Dan District). The club is owned and run by a supporters' trust with 1800 registered paying members as of May 2011. The admission fee to the trust is 300 NIS as of May 2011. Besides voting rights in the trust's general assemblies, it also provides a discount prices of club services such as a season ticket.
The club is owned and run by a supporters' trust with 1800 registered paying members as of May 2011. The admission fee to the trust is 300 NIS as of September 2010.

The club holds elections for club's board every two years. In the second elections in history on June 11 549 voters have decided to keep four of the current board members in place for another term, while electing as a fifth member Gilad Simchoni, the team's captain in recent years.

Supporters

In its first season price ticket was set at 15 NIS. Since the majority of fans ceased to attend the old team's games, the average attendance in Hapoel ussishkin games was about 650 , with a season high of 1,200 (full house) in the last game of the season against Hapoel Gan-Shmuel.
In its second season, despite a rise in ticket prices, average attendance rose to 1000.

Player of the Year

The HUTA player of the year award is voted for by fans in time for the final home game of the season. Previous winners have been:
EWLINE
Year Winner
2007-08   Tohar Haimovic
2008-09   Tohar Haimovic
2009-10   Matan Naor
Matan Naor
Matan Naor is an Israeli basketball player who currently plays for Hapoel Tel Aviv.-References:...


Managerial history

{|
|valign="top"|
{| class="wikitable" style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:left"
|- style="font-weight:bold; color:#FFFFFF; background-color:#FF0000;" |
|Dates||Manager
|-
| 2007–2009
|   Uri Shelef
|-
| 2009–2011
|   Sharon Avrahami
|-
| 2011–present
|   Erez Edelshtain
|}

Management

{|
|valign="top"|
{| class="wikitable" style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:left"
|- style="font-weight:bold; color:#FFFFFF; background-color:#FF0000;" |
!Position
!Name
|-
| Chairman
| Rami Cohen
|-
| Vice Chairman
| Noa Sekely
|-
| Board member
| Yonathan Lerner
|-
| Board member
| Gilad Simchoni
|-
| Board member
| Maor Harel
|}
|}

Honours

  • National Championships (5):1959-60, 1960–61, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1968–69
  • State Cup
    Israeli Basketball State Cup
    The Israeli Basketball State Cup is the second most important basketball competition in Israel, after Ligat HaAl. The tournament began in the 1955-56 season, and is run by the Israel Basketball Association....

     (4)
    :1961-62, 1968–69, 1983–84, 1992–93
  • Liga Leumit
    Liga Leumit (basketball)
    Liga Leumit is the second tier of league basketball competition in Israel, below the Israeli Basketball Super League.-League system:The league contains 14 clubs that compete in a home-and-away round-robin. At the end of the season, the top eight clubs advance to the play-offs. The first round is...

     (2)
    :1997-98, 2001–02

Notable former players

The best player who played for the club is undoubtedly Barry Leibowitz
Barry Leibowitz
Barry Leibowitz is a retired American-Israeli professional basketball player.A 6'2" guard from Long Island University, Leibowitz played one season in the American Basketball Association as a member of the Pittsburgh Pipers, New Jersey Americans and Oakland Oaks.He later played professionally in...

. Hailing from the ABA
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.-League history:...

 team of the New Jersey Nets
New Jersey Nets
The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

, Leibowitz is considered one of the best players ever in Israeli basketball. Without a doubt, the most beloved foreign player in Hapoel Tel Aviv history was Mike Largey. In the history of the Israel Basketball League he was the first foreigner to be named team captain. Another admired player by the club's fans is Shimon Amsalem, who played for the club during its glory days of the 1980s and the ill-fated years of the 1990s. He was known for his fighting spirit as well as his love for the fans and the club. Clearly another fan favorite was Kenny Labanowski, the 6'8" forward arrived in 1981, and was a fierce competitor, known for his fighting spirit and rebounding.
{|
|-valign="top"
|
  • Shimon Amsalem
  • Danny Bracha
  • Gideon Bendel
  • Radenko Dobrash
  • Kenny Labanowski
  • Jonathan Delzel
  • Gershon Dekel
  • Hayim Zlotikman
  • Hayim Hazan

|
  • Pinchas Hozez
  • Mark Torenshine
  • James Terry
  • Boaz Yanai
  • Mike Largey
  • Doug Lee
    Doug Lee (basketball)
    Douglas Edward Lee is a retired American professional basketball player.A 6'5" guard-forward from Texas A&M University and Purdue University, Lee was selected by the Houston Rockets in the 2nd round of the 1987 NBA Draft, going on to play in three NBA seasons for New Jersey Nets and Sacramento...

  • Barry Leibowitz
    Barry Leibowitz
    Barry Leibowitz is a retired American-Israeli professional basketball player.A 6'2" guard from Long Island University, Leibowitz played one season in the American Basketball Association as a member of the Pittsburgh Pipers, New Jersey Americans and Oakland Oaks.He later played professionally in...

  • LaVon Mercer
    LaVon Mercer
    LaVon Mercer , is an American-Israeli retired basketball player. He played in the center position ....

  • Nenad Marković
    Nenad Markovic
    Nenad Marković is a famous former Bosnian professional basketball player and a basketball coach.-Playing career:...


|
  • Ami Naui
  • Terry Fair
  • Amos Frishman
  • Purvis Short
    Purvis Short
    Purvis Short is a retired American professional basketball player, who starred with the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association during the 1980s...

  • Tomer Steinhour
  • Shimon Shelach
  • Ami Shelef
  • Alon Stein
    Alon Stein
    Alon Stein is a German-Israeli basketball player who plays the guard position. He plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv.-Biography:...

  • David Thirdkill
    David Thirdkill
    David Thirdkill is a retired American basketball player who was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the 1st round of the 1982 NBA Draft. A small forward from the College of Southern Idaho and Bradley University, Thirdkill played in five NBA seasons from 1982 to 1987...


|}

External links

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