Time passes and the journey lasts. Two months after the Euroleague announced that from December 1 the Israeli teams would return to play at home in Tel Aviv, Valencia Basket arrived in the country banned from competition for nearly 800 days due to the massacre in Gaza and the region surrounded by great opacity. The club has decided not to communicate anything before today’s match (8:05 p.m., Movistar) against Maccabi, which will ultimately be played at the Pais Arena in Jerusalem, and not in Tel Aviv, against a record six European Cups.
It’s not a pleasant trip on a Valencian expedition. The club decided not to comment on his whereabouts, where he traveled from (the last party was in El Pirao, near Athens, against Olympiacos) or where he stayed, and did not tweet information about his account in X. The preview did not include any allusions to the war, only sporting aspects.
But I spoke a few weeks ago with the club’s owner, Juan Roig, and the coach, Pedro Martínez. “We are not happy at all, we are worried,” said the businessman. Before the coach speaks, the veteran Catalan coach. “Actually, we are not very calm. When we see the news, we think that the situation is not as normal as we would like. So the question that comes to me is: why is November 25 not safe to play in Israel and December 5, right? The directives that make the decision, plus we don’t have to travel. We are no longer comfortable with the situation,” he explained at the end of October.
The Euroleague has demanded from Israeli clubs, Maccabi and Hapoel, a series of measures guaranteeing the security of the teams in Israel. As long as you don’t have to be stuck at passport control at airport customs, you should travel with an escort to all your destinations. The club organization wanted to shed more light on this trip which, even during the regular phase, did not have to be made by the other three Spanish teams: Real Madrid, Barcelona and Baskonia, who visited rivals Tel Aviv during their match against Belgrade and Sofia. scheduled for January 6, the closed session will be contested.
Security measures will be extended to the hotel where Valencia is staying and to the venue of the party, which will ultimately be the Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv, which is not available, but the Pais Arena in Jerusalem, about 70 kilometers from the Maccabi headquarters, a pabellum that can accommodate 11,600 spectators located in the Malha district, southwest of the city.
El Maccabi had played a party in Israel, this time only in Tel Aviv, when it faced Asvel Villeurbanne on December 11 (92-82 victory). That day, 10,000 tickets were sold and the effort celebrated it in a big way, with yellow t-shirts with the motto We’re back in reference to two years, since October 2023, when the team founded in 1930 plays in exile in its local parties.
El Maccabi is the history of the competition (today Euroleague and before the European Cup) with legendary duels against Real Madrid. It was the era of Miki Berkovich, Doron Jamchi and the American Kevin Magee. A team with 57 league titles and 46 Israel Cup titles. A group which has just left exile in Belgrade to return to its country. His coach, Oded Kattash, celebrated his return and the day they faced Asvel in Tel Aviv. “It still makes it hard for me to believe that this is really happening and that we are coming back here, after this terrible October 7 (the day of the Hamas attack). We are very moved.”
After the party’s true reunion with its passion, the Israeli coach reaffirmed his feelings. “It was exciting and special. Two years ago it was an exaggerated number, but it seemed a lot longer,” he commented.
Now it’s the turn of Valencia Basket, a team that is where it doesn’t want to be, but can’t afford to lose focus. Pedro Martínez’s team achieved an excellent performance in the Euroleague: it won, in Greece, against Olympiacos, its eleventh victory in 16 matches, tied with Barcelona and only one of its leaders, and with Hapoel, the other team from Tel Aviv. Valencia is still waiting for its visit to the field of its great rival (this was its execution last season in the semi-final of the Eurocup), which will take place on February 5.
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