Lior Eliyahu: “I was afraid that also this season I wouldn’t play. My thanks go to Efy.”

By Amy Samin

In the preseason, and during the first Israeli League and Euroleague games, one thing was obvious: Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv was far from being a cohesive team.
But if there’s one player on the team you can count on, it’s Lior Eliyahu who, after a tough season last year, is getting full support from head coach Efy Birenboim and has an average of 14.5 points in the games against Cibona and Avellino.

“Playing for Maccabi was my childhood dream,” says the forward.
“In fact, it still sometimes seems like a dream.
When we’re out there warming up before a game, there are already 3,000 – 4,000 fans watching; you can hear their shouts and cheers.
Then, when Derrick (team captain Derrick Sharp) is introduced, the whole crowd is on their feet.
My next dream is to win the European Championship with Maccabi.”

About his being benched by Zvika Sherf last season, Eliyahu says, “Up until then, I was still pretty euphoric (about being on the team).
With everything that happened, I became depressed.
In the middle of the season, when I wasn’t playing at all, Mony Fanan asked me, ‘Lior, do you think you’ll remember this when you go out on the court to play in the semi-finals of Final Four?’
He was right, I didn’t remember it then.”

And what about the rest of this season?
“For now, I have no complaints.
I just want us to keep winning.
The Israeli League has really improved, and there’s no such thing as an easy game.
There’s maybe one or two teams we can dominate, but that’s it.
As far as the Euroleague goes, we know that the teams we’ve beaten so far are not the best Europe has to offer.”

“I was really afraid that I was starting another season during which I wouldn’t play,” said Eliyahu, who refused to answer questions about Sherf or his current coach.
“My thanks go to Efy.
He gives support to his players, and corrects their mistakes in a positive way.
If I’m approached in a negative way, I just can’t give good results.”

In case you’re wondering, Eliyahu, who was chosen in the NBA draft by the Houston Rockets, hasn’t given up his dream of playing in the best league in the world, but he realizes that there are still things he needs to improve before that can happen.
“Obviously, it will be hard for me to get into the NBA without good shooting skills; that’s something I need to work on.
I need about 2 – 3 months to do nothing but work on that.
I don’t know how close I really am to that league.
It’s a matter of being in the right place at the right time.”

samintranslations@yahoo.com

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