Rafi Menco, who joined Maccabi in 2022, is considered as one of the best shooters in Israeli basketball in recent years. He brings experience, can play both as a shooting guard and as a small forward and brings high energy and fighting spirit. He was born in March 1994 in Srigim, a small community about 17 miles west of Jerusalem. Since then, he made a long road as a basketball player.
Menco was recognized as one of the top talents in Israel at age 15, was a member of Israel's youth national teams and joined Hapoel Jerusalem in 2012. He was loaned out to Gilboa-Galil, showed great qualities and returned to the capital until 2016. That's when he moved south to Hapoel Eilat and played under Kattash, contributing 9.4 points (39.1% from deep), 6.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.
In 2017 Menco moved to Hapoel Tel Aviv and scored 9 points per game, with 45% from beyond the arc in the playoffs. He returned to Eilat in the middle of his second season with the Reds, and delivered 11.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 52.6% from 3-point range in the playoffs. In his next season with Eilat he made another leap and reached 13.4 points, 5.3 boards and 1.9 assists in the regular season.
In 2020 Menco worked on his French, as he moved to Chalon. He contributed 7.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 22 minutes per night with the French team, and went back to Israel the following summer. He was signed by Holon, where he made his mark as the leading Israeli player on the team that went on to win the championship. He started 21 out of 27 regular season game, played over 23 minutes on average, scored 9.5 points and grabbed 4.5 rebounds. In the playoffs he shot 47.1% from deep, including 6-of-9 in the finals.