Hapoel Lev Jerusalem

Last updated
Hapoel Lev Jerusalem
Lev jerusalem logo.png
Leagues Israeli League
Founded2021;4 years ago (2021)
Arena Malha Arena
(capacity 2,000)
Location Jerusalem, Israel
Team colorsRed and White
  
Head coachLimor Peleg
ChampionshipsIsraeli State Cup (1)
Website https://levjerusalem.club/english/

Hapoel Lev Jerusalem is a professional women's basketball team based in Jerusalem, competing in the Premier League. Founded in 2021, the team first competed in the 3rd tier Liga Artzit. The team gained two league promotions in two seasons and joined the Premier League in 2023. In 2024 the team won the Israeli State Cup.

Contents

History

The team was founded by Rebecca Ross and Dr. Netta Abugov. Ross is an American-Israeli professional basketball player, who played for several Israeli Premier League teams. Ross joined the nonprofit organization PeacePlayers International which uses basketball to bridge cultural and social divides and promote peace. [1] [2] For several years, Ross coached amateur and youth teams that integrated Arab and Jewish players. In 2021, Ross teamed up with Dr. Netta Abugov, a former linguistics lecturer at Bar-Ilan University, whose daughter was on a team coached by Ross. They sought to create a professional team and founded Hapoel Lev Jerusalem (lev is the Hebrew word for "heart"). [3]

Several players from PeacePlayers teams joined several players recruited by Ross and Abugov from other clubs to create the new team, which hosted games at Havat HaNoar HaTzioni . In the 2021/22 season, Hapoel Lev Jerusalem competed in the 3rd tier Liga Artzit. The team won the league's southern division and were promoted to the 2nd tier National League (Liga Leumit). In the 2022/23 season, the team won the league championship and was promoted to the Premier League. The team also won the Basketball Association cup (the 2nd tier cup competition in Israel).

After gaining promotion to the Premier League, Malcha Arena, formerly the home court of Hapoel Jerusalem B. C., became the team's new home court. In March 2024, Hapoel Lev Jerusalem won the Israeli State Cup after beating Elitzur Ramla in the final. [4] The team also reached the playoff finals, where they lost to Ramla in three games. [5]

In the 2024/25 season, the team was eliminated in the playoff semi-finals by Elitzur Ramla. The team also reached the Cup Final for the second consecutive season, this time losing to Maccabi Bnot Ashdod.

Current Roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Hapoel Jerusalem roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Age
G 1 Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Israel.svg Baron, Alyssa  (c)1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)33 – (1992-04-16)16 April 1992
F 3 Flag of the United States.svg Richardson, Breanna 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)30 – (1994-08-04)4 August 1994
G 4 Flag of Israel.svg Gagola, Noa 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)19 – (2006-01-26)26 January 2006
PF 6 Flag of Israel.svg Kabada, Hodaya 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)19 – (2005-08-29)29 August 2005
G 7 Flag of Israel.svg Kayuf, Noor 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)23 – (2001-08-24)24 August 2001
G 8 Flag of Israel.svg Tirosh, Shir 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)26 – (1999-06-02)2 June 1999
G 9 Flag of Israel.svg Mor Yosef, Hadar 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)19 – (2005-10-13)13 October 2005
G/F 10 Flag of Israel.svg Grinboim, Tamar 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)19 – (2005-10-11)11 October 2005
SF 18 Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Israel.svg Snow, Annette 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)30 – (1994-11-16)16 November 1994
G 30 Flag of Israel.svg Artushas, Karni 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)19 – (2005-07-11)11 July 2005
G 33 Flag of Israel.svg Mayshar, Neta 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)18 – (2006-12-09)9 December 2006
F 35 Flag of the United States.svg Carey, Sasha 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)29 – (1995-11-16)16 November 1995
Head coach
  • Flag of Israel.svg Limor Peleg
Assistant coach(es)
  • Flag of Israel.svg Yonatan Naveh
Team manager
  • Flag of Israel.svg Rebecca Ross
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (IN) Inactive player
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured
Updated: May 9, 2024

Honours

References

  1. ↑ Masters, James (May 14, 2015). "Can hoop dreams help bridge Israeli-Palestinian divide?". CNN.
  2. ↑ Kantor, Jacqueline (May 19, 2016). "The Israeli-Palestinian basketball teams that are breaking all barriers". ESPN.
  3. ↑ Jaffe-Hoffman, Mayaan; Schachne, Erica (March 11, 2024). "Netta Abugov: Empowering and inspiring women through basketball". The Jerusalem Post.
  4. ↑ Halickman, Joshua (March 7, 2024). "Hapoel Lev Jerusalem captures the Israel State Cup". Sports Rabbi.
  5. ↑ Halickman, Joshua (April 18, 2024). "Ramle nabs 3rd straight Israel women's basketball title". The Jerusalem Post.
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