Hapoel Eilat
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Wikipedia - Hapoel Eilat B.C.
Hapoel Eilat (Hebrew: הפועל אילת), for sponsorship reasons named Hapoel Yossi Avrahami Eilat, is an Israeli basketball club. The team plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top tier of Israeli basketball. The team represents the far-South region of the country - the Arabah area, and the Red Sea city of Eilat.
History
The team earned promotion to the First Division (known variously as Ligat HaAl, the Super League, or the Israeli Basketball Premier League) for the first time in the 1990–91 season, while being coached by Arik Shivek.
In the 1996–97 season, the team lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the playoff semi-finals. A year later the team reached the finals, in which it lost 0-3 to Maccabi Tel Aviv.
In early 2000, the team found itself in serious financial difficulties, which resulted in relegation to the Second Division (Liga Leumit, or the National League). Later the team disbanded, and re-established in the lowest league.
In the 2010–11 season, the team won the Association Cup, the cup of the lower leagues, after beating Maccabi Kiryat Bialik in the final.
In June 2012, the team gained the license of Habik'a B.C. to play in the Israeli Basketball Super League, starting with the 2012–13 season.
In June 2015, the team knocked out Israeli basketball powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Basketball Premier League semi-finals, winning 3–2 in a best-of-five series. The team faced Hapoel Jerusalem in the finals, but lost.
Hapoel Eilat har vunnet en Israel State Cup-tittel i 2017. De har også vært finalister i Israel Premier League to ganger, i 2004 og 2017.
Klubbens hovedtrener er Ariel Beit Halachmi. Noen av de mest kjente spillerne som har spilt for Hapoel Eilat inkluderer:
* Richard Howell Jr.
* Sean Kilpatrick
* James Ennis
* Jake Cohen
* Tamir Blatt
Hapoel Eilat er kjent for sin dynamiske spillestil og lidenskapelige fans. De er et respektert lag i den israelske basketballscenen og har alltid vært konkurransedyktige i alle turneringer de deltar i.