Hapoel Holon

Infobox Basketball club
color1 =Yellow
color2 =Purple
name =Hapoel Holon
הפועל חולון
nickname =
logo =
imagesize =
leagues =Ligat HaAl
State Cup
founded = 1947
arena = Holon City Arena (capacity: 2,850)
location =Holon
colors =Yellow and Purple
president = Miki Dorsman
coach =flagicon|ISR Dani Franco
championships =1 (2007-08)
website = [http://www.hapoel-holon.co.il/ www.hapoel-holon.co.il]
h_pattern_b =_thinpurplesides
h_body =FFFF00
h_shorts =800080
a_pattern_b =_thinyellowsides
a_body =800080
a_shorts =FFFF00

Hapoel Holon is an 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 will 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 flight at the end of the 2006-07 season, 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 four seconds from the end of the game. PJ Tucker won the MVP title. It was the first time Maccabi Tel Aviv had failed to win the league in 14 years. [ [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/988605.html Heroic Holon dethrones Maccabi Tel Aviv] Haaretz]

The club has reached the final of the State Cup final five times, but lost in all five occasions.

Notable players

Over the years the club has signed several former NBA players, including PJ Tucker, Kenny Benister, Clarence Kea and Richie Dumas. Their 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.

Arena

The club plays at the Holon City Arena, which has a capacity of 2,850. It was the first covered basketball arena in Israel, built in 1953. It is known as the "Tin Court", as the roof and the sides of the court are made of Tin.

Honours

*Ligat HaAl
**Champions 2007-08
*Liga Leumit
**Champions 2006, 2007
**Regular season champions 2004, 2007

Colors and mascot

The team's colors are defined as yellow and purple after a Jewish American fan of the Los Angeles Lakers donated uniforms in the colors of his favorite club,.

For many years Holon's mascot was a tiger. It appeared on the team's logo for many years and in the 90's the team called 'Hapoel Tigers Holon' on its logo. Today the tiger still exists but in another form.

2008-2009 roster

Euroleague roster header|team=Hapoel Holon
color1 = Black| bg1 = Yellow| color2 = DarkPurple| bg2 = Purple

Euroleague roster footer
head_coach =
*
asst_coach =
*Gili Sela
roster_url = http://www.ligatwinner.com/TeamPage.asp?TeamId=75&cYear=2009&lang=en
accessdate = 2008-10-09

References

External links

* [http://www.hapoel-holon.co.il/ Official website] he icon
* [http://www.holonia.com Fansite] he icon
* [http://holonia.myroomy.com Fansite] he icon