HAPOEL 'SODA CLUB' JERUSALEM

Hapoel Jerusalem have had many great achievements over the years including winning the Israeli Cup in both 1995/1996 and 1996/1997. In the 1998/1999 season they were the first placed team but were runners up to both the Cup and Championship Finals. They reached the final of the Israeli Cup as they have almost every year in 1999/2000 and reached round 16 of the Saporta Cup for the 3rd time in 4 years.

The club has the second largest stadium in Israel seating more than 3,000 supporters. The team has proven capacity to sell all tickets and fill the stadium for all of its games. On many occasions, tickets have been sold out in advance for many years.

Having arrived in Israel in August 2000 I was ready to start a new season, miles away from home. This was a big change for me having played comfortably in England with my family near and now I was to play in a country which appeared, on the brink of war. It wasn't until I arrived that I realised that the fighting wasn't on my doorstep and, that everyone continued to live their lives - going to work - shopping at the malls - dining at restaurants. All that was happening (which continues) is sensitive to everyones hearts and for many of us, of great concern, but no one allowed it take over their lives. The people of Jerusalem continued to enjoy life. Because of this it was easy to adjust to this climate.

The team went through a lot of changes and a lot of adjustments from August 2000 through June 2001. We began in August with 4 foreigners (2 from the US and 2 Bosman/US - myself included) but as many of us know, with basketball, we hope as players that we will see the season through winning a few Cups and Championships along the way. This is not always the case and 3 of those players were released. The foreigner positions were subsequently filled with 2 Americans, both of whom played in the NBA (one who returned to the team having played with Hapoel in the past). On April 29th Roger Huggins joined the team as our other Bosman (English) player and it was good to welcome him. Roger is a great athlete and he complimented the team and made outstanding contributions.

My other team mates were Israeli citizens.

In January 2001 during the first quarter of a game, as I landed I went over on my ankle which prevented me from playing the rest of the game. This resulted in my having surgery. A piece of bone had broken in 2 places in my foot. It became apparent during surgery that this was an old injury and I admit to having managed to tolerate and continue playing with this for a few years. During this game the bones had lodged themselves and finally the pain was too much. I was advised to have emergency surgery. The pieces were removed and raw bone filed and smoothed over to prevent future discomfort but after sitting out for 3 to 4 weeks I was fully healed and anxious to continue playing.

In February 2001 we were knocked out of the Euroleague competition which was unfortunate but despite this, playing in different countries, against talented and skilled players, was a very good experience for me.

We played Givat Shmuel in the semi finals of the State Cup on 21st May and won 94 - 81. We played the Final (23rd May) and lost to previous winners Maccabi Tel Aviv which was disappointing on our part.

We finished the season in 3rd position of the Premier Israeli League thus qualifying for the playoffs (only the top 4 teams were eligible to take part). We won the semi-final playoffs against Galil 3-1 enabling us to take part in the finals which began almost immediately. Maccabi Tel Aviv had home court advantage having finished league winners and they proceeded to win their 41st Championship (3-0) - thus leaving Hapoel runners up again for the year 2000/2001.

See to view my statistics for the 2000/2001 season. There is also a link to Hapoels website providing you with the opportunity to view the team statistics also.

I would like to say 'thank you' to the Atar family and in particular Omri. Although we met late in the season fans such as Omri and his family make my job much easier - here are some of my memories.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Telebasket.com announced the All Premier League First Team for 2000-2001
Here is the article

First Team - All Premier League

Arriel McDonald, Marko Bulic, Tony Dorsey, Yoav Saffar, Stanley Brundy

Arriel McDonald was just amazing, and more about him you can read in our Player of the Year selection. Yoav Saffar was just as good, performing rare shooting percentages from all ranges from a #4, and leading Galil to an amazing first phase of the season. Galil indeed loosen up in the last months, but still got the second place pretty comfortably. Saffar averaged 16.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, in 57.5% from the floor, including a league-best 48% from beyond the arch. His real test will start on Monday, as he would've to prove that he's capable of defeating Maccabi in a big significant game.

Tony Dorsey's numbers gone down a little since Williams' return, but he's still Jerusalem's most important player. Dorsey does a little of everything, and completes the missing pieces of the puzzle on every night. Without his mental stability, who knows if Jerusalem even enters the playoffs. Dorsey led his team with points (16.8) and assists (2.7), field goals and free throws attempted and made, as he falls only to Williams in rebounding (5.3).

Marko Bulic, the league's leading scorer, and Stanley Brundy, the league's leading rebounder, played a wonderful season which eventually led Haifa BC to the playoffs. Bulic led the league in points, three-pointer taken and made, and has been Haifa's go-to guy all season long. Brundy has probably been the most stable player in the league, doing whatever the team needs him to do every night. He led the league with 11.4 rebounds, 3 of them on offense, much more than his deputy, and has the second best field goal percentage in the league (65%), falling only to Huffman. He's also leading all the big men with nearly 2 steals per game.

Second Team - All Premier League
Lamont Jones, Rimas Kaukenas, Sam Hines, Kenny Williams, Nate Huffman.

Third Team - All Premier League
Corey Gaines, Cory Carr, Anthony Parker, Andre Spencer, Tim Mason

 

 

Here is an article written by Romano Petitti and was displayed on the Telebasket.com website

FOCUS ON: Tony DORSEY
Nov 30, 2000

Graduated in North Alabama University, he obtained the English citizenship a few months ago and made his debut with the National team not long ago. He is playing in Hapoel Jerusalem after he spent many seasons in England.
He was designated MVP of the league twice. Dorsey is a 201cm. small forward with an average body and good athletic condition, who likes play down low using his size to hit the turn around jumper fading away or sliding the baseline. He has a full offensive arsenal and can hit a three-pointer on the dishes, build a pull up jumper and finish slamming the ball in the traffic.
He is averaging 18,8 points in the Euroleague and he's the best Hapoel scorer. He isn't a selfish player like many scorers, but has a complete court vision and can create plays for his teammates. He's an above average offensive rebounder and has a decent attitude on defence. He knows the game and reads well the situations and he also knows how to play without the ball. Dorsey is very effective in every moment of the game.



Romano Petitti, telebasket.com, Milano


Hapoel Jerusalem