After defeating its only real rival, Maccabi Rehovot, two weeks ago, Ma’aleh Adumim needed to win its last two games to assure it a spot in the next division.
It got through a tough game against Shoham at home before completely obliterating Lod by 36 points in the last game.
Head coach Yair Gewirtz was ecstatic after the achievement and promised that MA would not rest until it reached the top league in Israel, Ligat Ha’al.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment for my team, the management, and the city and this puts MA on the basketball map of Israel” said Gewirtz amid a showering of post-game champagne, compliments of his players.
Both Maccabi Ma’aleh Adumim and Maccabi Rehovot ended up 22-2 on the season, but MA ended on top outscoring its foe by 10 in the two games they split during the season, giving MA the nod and a place among Israel’s basketball elite.
Ma’aleh Adumim Mayor Benny Kashriel attended the final game and was clearly excited about the prospects and ramifications for his city.
For Gewirtz, this was a culmination of the many years he played youth and men’s basketball for the city, captaining and ultimately coaching the team throughout its 15-year climb to the second division. Gewirtz’s squad underachieved in his first year as head coach, suffering through injuries and bad fortune, but he held the undermanned squad together for a surprising fourth-place finish before this year’s impressive run.
The team has some very talented players, like Barak Orion and Bar Sheffer, the son of former Israeli basketball star Doron Sheffer, but all year long the key player for Gewirtz’s squad was ironically an American player who starred on the last year’s historic Yeshiva University team in New York.
Simcha Halpert joined the team shortly after the Division III NCAA tournament abruptly ended due to the pandemic, cutting short YU’s incredible run, but he quickly signed on with Ma’aleh Adumim and became the focal point of the team and its leading scorer. Now with the club’s promotion, it will be looking to sign some top foreign players and hoping to continue the journey to the pinnacle of Israeli basketball.