RSS | Advertise With Us | Blogs | Judaica Gifts |  4 Kislev 5770, Saturday, November 21, 2009 13:07 IST |
WebJPost.com 
Subscribe! Judaica Gifts
RSS Feeds E-mail Edition
HomeHeadlinesIranian ThreatJewish WorldOpinionBusinessReal EstateLocal IsraelBlogsArts & Culture Français Classifieds
IsraelMiddle EastInternationalHealth & Sci-TechFeaturesTravelCafe OlehMagazineSportsIsrael GuideSubscribe
Specials
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers a 20% discount on online reservations
Israeli Basketball
Watch Live Israeli Premier Basketball Games
Jerusalem Post Lite
Light Edition of the Jerusalem Post for English improvement
Desert lodging & activity
Tents, camping & cabins, various activities and meals in the Negev
The Best Jewish Charity
Learn how Efrat saved 30,000 lives of Jewish children
Tamir Rent a car
Car rental in Israel, special prices
ג'רוזלם פוסט לייט
עיתון חדשות באנגלית קלה התורם לשיפור השפה האנגלית
Tour guides in Israel
Choose you’re your tour guide in Israel
Israel guide
Your guide to Israel
Green Israel
Protecting Israel's environment
ג'רוזלם פוסט לייט
עיתון חדשות באנגלית קלה התורם לשיפור השפה האנגלית


Middle East & Israel Breaking News » Sports News » Article

Basketball: Emotional Halperin says goodbye to Maccabi, heads to Olympiacos


PrintSubscribe
Toolbar
+ Recommend:
facebook twitter del.icio.us reddit fark
What's this?
Decrease text size Decrease text size
Increase text size Increase text size

Yotam Halperin left for Athens on Thursday morning to complete his move from Maccabi Tel Aviv to Olympiacos.

The 24-year-old guard, who officially became an Olympiacos player after successfully passing a medical, has spent his entire career at Maccabi, aside from one season on loan at Slovenian side Olimpija Ljubljana.

"It will be strange at the beginning, but I'm sure I will get used to it after a game or two," Halperin said of playing in Olympiacos' red shirt.

"I will always wish Maccabi the very best and that they will win the championship and the cup and reach the Euroleague final against Olympiacos."

The Greek giant has invested heavily in the off-season, with Maccabi's Nikola Vujcic and Euroleague superstar Theodoros Papaloukas also to be part of the club's roster next season.

"Olympiacos are building something very special and I'm very happy to be part of it. This team can go very far next season," Halperin said. "I grew up at Maccabi and one day I'll return to the club. I have an opportunity to experience something amazing and I thank Maccabi for allowing me to do so."

Halperin won't be away in Greece for long, as once again he's set to be at the center of the national team's qualifying campaign for the European Championships.

The team will begin training in Israel on July 23, with the first qualifier to be played against Great Britain on September 3 at the Nokia Arena.

Israel's Group D also includes the Czech Republic and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Two players, however, who will likely not be part of the team despite being named in the 17-man roster, are Lior Eliyahu and Dror Hagag.

Eliyahu, who clashed with Tzvika Sherf at Maccabi last season, is refusing to play for Israel as long as Sherf remains at the helm. Eliyahu is expected to face a disciplinary committee should he not change his decision.

The 29-year-old Hagag, who moved from Hapoel Jerusalem to Maccabi Tel Aviv last week, announced his retirement from the national team, claiming personal reasons prevent him from representing the country this summer.

RATE THIS ARTICLE
PrintSubscribe
Toolbar
+ Recommend:
facebook twitter del.icio.us reddit fark
What's this?
Most Original
eTeacher
Kadish
JWStore
KKL Picture of the week
JPost.com
Got a Question?
Have a question about something in this story? Ask it here and get answers from other users like you.

 
 
 
© 1995 - 2009 The Jerusalem Post. All rights reserved.    About Us | Media Kit | Exclusive Content | Advertise with Us | Subscribe | Contact Us | RSS
The online edition of The Jerusalem Post – JPost.com – provides first class news and analysis about Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Whether news about Iran, Gaza, Syria, Fatah, Hamas or Hezbollah, JPost.com covers the burning issues of the Middle East and the Israeli-Arab conflict.