{"id":28814,"date":"2009-05-21T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-05-21T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/gershon-with-the-plate-this-was-a-crucial-championship-for-the-club\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T09:00:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T06:00:36","slug":"gershon-with-the-plate-this-was-a-crucial-championship-for-the-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/gershon-with-the-plate-this-was-a-crucial-championship-for-the-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Gershon with the Plate: \u201cThis was a crucial championship for the club.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Amy Samin<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>


<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

Maccabi Tel Aviv is once again the Israeli basketball Champion.
<\/SPAN>After exactly one year, the plate-shaped trophy has resumed its place in the cabinet at Nokia Area, after Pini Gershon and his players defeated Maccabi Haifa Heat 85 \u2013 72 in the championship final.<\/SPAN><\/P>

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\"\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>


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\u201cThis championship is very important to the club and to me, personally,\u201d said Pini Gershon<\/B> immediately after the game.
<\/SPAN>\u201cI didn\u2019t want to be added to the list of coaches who lost the championship with Maccabi Tel Aviv, and I will do everything I can to make sure that doesn\u2019t happen again.
<\/SPAN>We\u2019re a quality club, we have the means to win, and we\u2019ll do our best to make sure no one talks about us again like they did this season, because that\u2019s what gives our opponents confidence.
<\/SPAN>This was my toughest championship; I don\u2019t know how many I\u2019ve won, but this was the hardest.\u201d<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>


<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

Derrick Sharp<\/SPAN><\/B>, who stood with his son in his arms and tears in his eyes, said: \u201cI\u2019m so happy.
<\/SPAN>What can I say?
<\/SPAN>I can\u2019t say anything.
<\/SPAN>The energy is always there, it\u2019s my belief that you\u2019ve got to stay positive.
<\/SPAN>You don\u2019t have to do anything; you just have to stay positive.\u201d<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>


<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

When asked about his decision to bring Tal Burstein with him to raise the plate, Sharp said: \u201cI brought Tal because he\u2019s my co-captain.
<\/SPAN>We have two captains, and he deserved to be there.\u201d
<\/SPAN>When asked how much longer he would continue to play for Maccabi, Sharp answered, \u201cI\u2019ll keep playing for as long as my legs hold out.\u201d<\/SPAN><\/P>

<\/SPAN>
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\"\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>


<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv\u2019s chairman of the board, Shimon Mizrahi<\/B> joked, \u201cWe\u2019ve added another plate to our table service.
<\/SPAN>We\u2019ve been through some difficult weeks and months.
<\/SPAN>It\u2019s a very sweet championship, and no one is happier than I am.
<\/SPAN>I also had a difficult season.\u201d<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>


<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

Carlos Arroyo<\/SPAN><\/B>, chosen the game\u2019s MVP, said, \u201cThere\u2019s no better feeling after a season with so many ups and downs.
<\/SPAN>It\u2019s just moving.
<\/SPAN>We\u2019ve been through so much this season.
<\/SPAN>I have to give credit to the players; we changed coaches and players yet we stayed a team and stayed focused.
<\/SPAN>We showed character, and we deserve to celebrate in our locker room.
<\/SPAN>We respect each other and we love each other.\u201d<\/SPAN><\/P>

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<\/P>

\"\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>


<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

Tal Burstein<\/SPAN><\/B>, who contributed great moments to the game, said, \u201cIt\u2019s always exciting.
<\/SPAN>I heard the crowd telling me to stay (with the team) and that really moved me.
<\/SPAN>I don\u2019t know what will happen; anything is possible.\u201d<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>


<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

Lior Eliyahu<\/SPAN><\/B> said, \u201cI always take a nap before the games, but today I couldn\u2019t sleep.
<\/SPAN>I have no words to describe how pumped up we were.
<\/SPAN>The guys are amazing and I\u2019m crazy about all of them.
<\/SPAN>Tal Burstein is such an amazing player, and has brought so many titles to Maccabi.
<\/SPAN>He doesn\u2019t deserve what they\u2019ve said about him (in the press).\u201d
<\/SPAN>When asked about next season, Eliyahu said, \u201cI don\u2019t know where I\u2019ll be next season.
<\/SPAN>I need a couple of days to relax.\u201d<\/SPAN><\/P>

<\/SPAN>
<\/P>

\"\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4<\/SPAN><\/P>


<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

Raviv Limonad<\/SPAN><\/B> said, \u201cFor me this was very special; it\u2019s my first time and it\u2019s amazing.
<\/SPAN>I\u2019m enjoying the moment.
<\/SPAN>We\u2019ve been through a tough season, but the ending is sweet and I\u2019m glad everyone is happy.
<\/SPAN>We\u2019ve brought the championship home.\u201d<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>


<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

Maccabi Haifa Heat head coach Avi Ashkenazi<\/B> said, \u201cIt\u2019s a big disappointment.
<\/SPAN>There\u2019s a feeling of a lost opportunity and it pinches the heart.
<\/SPAN>Our free throw percentages were very bad, but I\u2019m looking at the cup as half-full and I\u2019m proud of the team.
<\/SPAN>I\u2019m still digesting the missed chance right now.
<\/SPAN>It\u2019s a bigger pinch than Tolbert\u2019s three-pointer (in the final of the Israeli National Cup).\u201d<\/SPAN><\/P>

<\/SPAN>
<\/P>

\"\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4<\/SPAN><\/P>

<\/SPAN>
<\/P>

\u201cI don\u2019t think it was a matter of pressure; we were tired and it was a tough game.
<\/SPAN>It was a wonderful season for a great group of guys; an absolute experience.\u201d<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P>


<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

Haifa Heat owner Jeff Rosen<\/B> praised his players in spite of the loss, \u201cI\u2019m proud of my team, and I salute my players.
<\/SPAN>I hope we\u2019ll be back here next season.
<\/SPAN>I\u2019m with Maccabi Haifa 100%\u201d<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>


<\/SPAN><\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>samintranslations@yahoo.com<\/A> <\/SPAN><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gershon: \u201cThis was my toughest championship.\u201d Derrick: \u201cWe have two captains, me and Tal.\u201d Mizrahi: \u201cWe\u2019ve added another plate to our table service.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"custom_author":[],"class_list":["post-28814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-other"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28814"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28814\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":495083,"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28814\/revisions\/495083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28814"},{"taxonomy":"custom_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maccabi.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/custom_author?post=28814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}