That was our year: Hapoel 2023

?The year 2023 was a special, busy and exciting year for Hapoel in all aspects. The team broke everything that was thought of at the beginning, won the state cup, reached a historic European final, kept the significant skeleton it had with the addition of upgrades and won the Winner Cup until a long and cruel war, which we are in to this day, interrupted the routine of life and basketball.
 

Hapoel played 48 games throughout the year, and won 36 of them (75% success). The home crowd and the arena returned this year to be a nightmare for every visiting team when at home the balance rises to a positive 19:3, over 86% success. Among all its rivals, Hapoel played no less than 6 times against Hapoel Tel Aviv, with the balance between them completely balanced (3:3). The second most popular opponent was Hapoel Holon, with whom Hapoel met 5 times, and beat them in all of these meetings.

 

Hapoel Model 2023 is known as a team with an iron defense and absolute control over the pace of the game, as coach Aleksandar Dzikic likes. This is reflected in a relatively low rating that characterized the team with an average of 79 points per game, compared to only 74 it concedes. When she wins, Hapoel scores only 2 points more, but manages to lower her opponent by 5 points to 69 points on average.

 

The busiest month was May, in which Hapoel played no less than 9 games. The month included the deciding stages in Europe, including the exciting Final Four in Malaga, and the deciding stages in the local league. In March, Hapoel played 8 games, in which they did not lose a single game, and also won the 7th state cup in its history. Winning the cup was just a link in a tremendous streak of no less than 14 consecutive victories - 67 days in which Hapoel did not lose a single game.

 

Hapoel's games this season were exciting and fascinating, and this was also reflected in the numbers. 9 games this year ended with a difference of less than 6 points, with Hapoel managing to win 8 of them. The closest games were the home game against Strasbourg, which Leway Randolph won with an unforgettable floater, and the BCL semi-final game in Malaga where Hapoel beat Tenerife by only one point.

 

 

The game with the highest margin was an away game against Kiryat Ata, in which Hapoel also set its points record for the year, beating Kiryat Ata 107:65. Right after this game in the list of high margins, there is game number 3 in the Champions League quarter-final series against AEK Athens in which Hapoel won by a resounding 40 margin and set another interesting record: the most fans present at a basketball game in Israel, with an arena filled to capacity.

 

So that was the year that was, may the next year be even more successful, more interesting, redder. Yalla Hapoel!