| Hapoel Holon הפועל חולון |
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| Leagues | Ligat HaAl State Cup |
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| Founded | 1947 | |||
| Arena | Holon City Arena (capacity: 2,850) |
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| Location | Holon | |||
| Team colors | Yellow and Purple | |||
| President | Hagai Shabtay | |||
| Head coach | Dan Shamir | |||
| Championships | See Honours | |||
| Website | www.holoniafans.com | |||
| Uniforms | ||||
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Hapoel Holon is a 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 did not play in any European continental club competitions in 2008–09.
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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.
Holon returned to the top division at the end of the 2006–07 season after playing for 7 years in the second and even the third divisions, 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 two seconds to the end of the game. PJ Tucker won the MVP title. It was the first time Maccabi Tel Aviv had failed to win the championship in 14 years.[1]
The club has reached the final of the State Cup six times, but did not pick up their first prize in that competition until 2009, when Brian Tolbert hit a three-pointer as time expired to give them a 69–68 win over Maccabi Haifa in that year's final.
On Jan 16th, 2010, the club has celebrated its 1000th game in Ligat HaAl (basketball) As of late however, the club has been under constant scrutiny after failing to pay the balance of last years staff and players throughout the end of the season. Although they've continued to sign new players, staff, and coaches for the upcoming 2011–2012 season, its apparent that they will not continue in the Israeli Lotto Premier League until they've satisfied all of their financial obligations from the 2010–2011 season.
Holon's 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. Israel Elimelech (Nicknamed – The King) is considered to be the club's biggest symbol. Played in holon during two decades – and led the team to many successful seasons in the premier league. Played in the legendary home grown team of holon in the 80's, with Niv Boogin (Doctor Boogin), Avi Maor, and the Israeli-American player Micheal Carter (The Crazy – Meshugah), who was known for driving the fans crazy.
The team's 2 titles were won by 2 winning baskets, scored by the 2007–08 PG Malik Dixon, and 2008–09 SG Brian Tolbert. Dixon scored a two-pointer 2 seconds to the end of the championship match against Maccabi Tel-Aviv, leaving Maccabi a 2 second possession which they failed to score in. Tolbert scored a three-point buzzer beater in the cup final, after he got the ball from an inbound pass by Deron Washington.
Over the years the club has signed several former NBA players, including PJ Tucker, Ken Bannister, Clarence Kea, and Richard Dumas. John Thomas, who has played in 2009–10 season, is also a former NBA player, with a history in five teams, such as New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks and etc.
The team's colors are yellow and purple after a Jewish American fan of the Los Angeles Lakers donated uniforms in the colors of his favorite club. Before that, the team played in red and white uniforms, Like almost every 'Hapoel' Team. Holon's outfit is unique in Israel – It's the only premier team in the top basketball and soccer leagues to wear a dominant yellow uniform when playing at home.
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. After the team won the 2006/2007 Natioal League championship, and upgraded to the first division, The old symbol was changed and redesigned, keeping Holon's symbol, the tiger.
(updated – November 2011)
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