Hapoel Jerusalem B.C.

Infobox Basketball club
color1 =white
color2 =red
name =הפועל 'מגדל' ירושלים
Hapoel Jerusalem B.C.
nickname =
logo =Hjm.png imagesize =170px
leagues =ULEB Cup
Ligat HaAl
State Cup
founded =1943
history =1943 - present
arena =Malha Arena
(capacity: 3000)
location =Jerusalem, Israel
colors =Red, white and black
president =Dani Klein
coach =Ziv Erez
championships =1 ULEB Cup
website = [http://www.hapoel.co.il/ www.hapoel.co.il]
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a_body=ff0000
a_pattern_b=_blacksleevelinesandsidesthick
a_shorts=ff0000
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Hapoel 'Migdal' Jerusalem ( _he. הפועל 'מגדל' ירושלים) is a basketball team based in Jerusalem, Israel. They currently play in Ligat HaAl, the top division of Israeli basketball.

History

Hapoel Jerusalem was founded in 1943 and initially played in a small court on Histadrut Street, before moving to the YMCA Arena, and finally moving to the only indoor arena in Jerusalem at that time: "The Strauss Arena". In the late 1980s the team moved to the 3,000-seat Malcha Arena.

In 1996 and 1997, Hapoel won the State Cup, defeating Maccabi Tel Aviv in the finals, at the Yad Eliyahu Arena (now known as the Nokia Arena). The team was lead by Adi Gordon, widely considered the team's symbol and best player.

In 2004, Hapoel Jerusalem won their first European title - the ULEB Cup, defeating Real Madrid in the final. (In the same year, the other major European basketball trophy -- the Euroleague -- was won by another Israeli team, Maccabi Tel Aviv.

In 2005 a percentage of the team was bought by the Israeli-Russian billionaire Arcadi Gaydamak. The team got stronger, and bought four American players, with an NBA record - Tamar Slay, Horace Jenkins, Roger Mason and Mario Austin. The team also purchased Israeli star Meir Tapiro and other Israeli leading players.

In 2007, Hapoel won its third State Cup, defeating Bnei HaSharon 103-85 at Nokia Arena.

In 2008 Hapoel came back from being 22 points down, in the 4th quarter to win its fourth State Cup, beating Maccabi Tel Aviv 93-89.

Current roster

Notable former players

Honours

*ULEB Cup
**Winners 2004
*State Cup
**Winners 1996, 1997, 2007, 2008

External links

* [http://www.hapoel.co.il/default.asp?lang=en Official website]
* [http://www.che.co.il/Sites/Che/index.php Fansite]