Maccabi Tel Aviv finished the basketball season as Israeli champion after beating Hapoel Tel Aviv 3-1 in the derby final, completing a double and claiming the club’s 58th league title. Speaking on Sport 5’s “5 Be-Avir” on Wednesday, longtime club figure Shimon Mizrahi described it as a “sweet championship” and said, “When you add the cup, you get our bread and butter, winning the double every year.” He added that he was “very worried” when the team was without Blatt, Leaf and Lavie, but believed the club’s “very team-oriented” basketball and emphasis on friendship and love of the game carried it through.
Mizrahi also dismissed Hapoel Tel Aviv owner Ofer Yannay’s complaints about officiating, calling them “a very bad joke.” He said Maccabi does not think about when Hapoel will or will not win, but focuses on collecting as many titles as possible. In his view, the club’s success came from building “a quality team with good chemistry,” while staying focused on its own situation rather than other teams.
He said guard Lonnie Walker is under contract for next season and that the staff would be happy to use him if he remains. Mizrahi praised coach Oded Katash as “one of the leading coaches in Europe,” especially given his late entry into the EuroLeague, and said Yifa Lundberg has strong leadership qualities and helps organize the team on court. He added that the club is negotiating with Lundberg and wants to keep him if possible.
On Claudio Coldebella, Mizrahi said Roma had approached him, but he hopes he stays at Maccabi Tel Aviv. He also described governance changes, saying Erich Stillman bought 50 percent of Fedenco Sport and became a director, bringing ideas from the high-tech world. “The current owners did not veto it, and he is part of the ownership of the club,” Mizrahi said. Looking ahead, he noted that many players’ wives do not want to come to Israel because of the situation, causing some near-signings to withdraw, though the club still wants Bonzie Colson and has not yet completed a deal.
