Bnei Herzliya Opens European Campaign Aiming to Surprise Joventut Badalona

Bnei Herzliya is set to begin its European season on Tuesday with an away game against Joventut Badalona in the opening round of the FIBA Champions League. This marks Herzliya's third appearance in the competition and second consecutive. The team has been drawn into Group H alongside Spain's Badalona, Germany's Bonn, and Portugal's Porto. The tournament format remains the same: the top team in each group advances directly to the Top 16, while the second and third-place teams will compete in a playoff series against teams from another group for a spot in the Top 16.

In their previous two Champions League seasons, Herzliya faced challenging groups and finished with identical records of 2 wins and 4 losses, failing to advance. This upcoming game will be Herzliya's third on Spanish soil in the BCL; they lost the previous two. The team's roster includes four returning foreign players from last season: captain Deshaun Francis, Noah Carter, D.J. Barnes, and Zach Bryant. Barnes and Bryant joined mid-season and will be making their BCL debuts. New foreign additions the Player, who has NBA experience, and D.J. Bruton, a Polish league champion, will also debut in the tournament. On the Israeli side, Amit Gershon returns for his second BCL season, while Dusty Hannahs will make his debut. Amit Menachem is injured and unavailable, while Sohem Gat will be available to coach Yehou Orland. The team also features Emri Kagan, and homegrown players Roey Solomon, Emri Bilt, Kai Obziler, and Nitai Shelem. Orland enters his third season as head coach, making him one of two Israeli coaches in the league, alongside Oren Amiel of Nymburk.

Herzliya's opponent, Joventut Badalona, is considered a favorite to win the tournament. Badalona boasts a strong roster including veteran NBA player Ricky Rubio, former Barcelona player Nicolás Laprovíttola, Ante Tomić, and Boogey Ellis. Badalona recently won the Spanish Supercup, defeating Barcelona 101-87 in the final, with Laprovíttola scoring 31 points. Their league game this week was postponed due to heavy rain. Badalona is undefeated at home in the BCL and reached the quarterfinals last season. Rubio has consistently delivered strong performances, averaging at least five assists and often scoring over 10 points in BCL games. Coach Orland expressed excitement for the new season, emphasizing the team's increased experience and their goal to advance further than last year. Captain Francis stated the team is motivated and prepared to surprise Badalona, acknowledging them as one of the competition's top teams.