Hapoel Tel Aviv had hoped center Dan Oturu would help in the championship series against Maccabi Tel Aviv, but he was not included in the squad for Game 3. Club officials said he had not played since the loss to Real Madrid in early May, returned to Israel overweight, and completed his first full practice only a day before the game.
Oturu was one of the two drivers of Hapoel’s historic first EuroLeague season, alongside Elijah Bryant. He started all 42 games in the competition, averaged 13.9 points and 5.7 rebounds, and raised those numbers in the quarterfinal series against Real Madrid to 19 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Bryant is already out for the season with an injury.
After the EuroLeague exit, Hapoel counted on Oturu to lead the team to the only title still available, the Israeli championship. But he had not been part of the roster since the May 7 game against Real Madrid, and his last game on Israeli soil was in mid-February. He returned to Israel before Game 3 of the semifinal series against Hapoel Jerusalem on June 11, left after the events in that match, and came back just before Game 1 of the finals, which began on June 16.
During that period, Oturu held intensive talks with owner Ofer Yannay and coach Dimitris Itoudis in an effort to persuade him to return. He spent time in Greece with Antonio Blakeney to stay in shape and time in the United States with his family. His original contract included a clause exempting him from returning to Israel during war, and he was not in the country during Operation “Rage of the Lion.” That clause was later removed in a new three-year deal, and the club still plans to build around him next season. For now, though, staff advised Itoudis not to use him, and Hapoel said he looked heavy and unfit for game action. Hapoel still hopes to force a fourth game, but Oturu may not play even if the series continues.
