# 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 Liga Leumit, the second 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.

## Season by season

| Season | Tier | League | Pos. | Postseason | State Cup | League Cup | European competitions | European competitions |
| 2010–11 | 3 | Liga Artzit | 4th | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2011–12 | 3 | Liga Artzit | 3rd | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2012–13 | 1 | Premier League | 3rd | Semifinalist | Quarterfinalist | — | — | — |
| 2013–14 | 1 | Premier League | 5th | Semifinalist | Runners-up | Semifinalist | — | — |
| 2014–15 | 1 | Premier League | 4th | Runners-up | Semifinalist | Quarterfinalist | — | — |
| 2015–16 | 1 | Premier League | 4th | Semifinalist | Round of 16 | Runners-up | — | — |
| 2016–17 | 1 | Premier League | 2nd | Quarterfinalist | Round of 16 | Quarterfinalist | — | — |
| 2017–18 | 1 | Premier League | 7th | Quarterfinalist | Quarterfinalist | Quarterfinalist | — | — |
| 2018–19 | 1 | Premier League | 4th | Semifinalist | Quarterfinalist | Quarterfinalist | — | — |
| 2019–20 | 1 | Premier League | 10th | — | Round of 16 | Quarterfinalist | — | — |
| 2020–21 | 1 | Premier League | 4th | Semifinalist | Round of 16 | Quarterfinalist | Balkan League | RS |
| 2021–22 | 1 | Premier League | 9th | — | — | Runners-up | 3 Champions League | Qualifying rounds |
| 2021–22 | 1 | Premier League | 9th | — | — | Runners-up | 4 Europe Cup | Regular season |
| 2022–23 | 1 | Premier League | 11th | — | — | Quarterfinalist | — | — |
| 2023–24 | 1 | Premier League | 13th | — | First round | First round | — | — |
Source: Eurobasket.com

## Players
### Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
| C | Joan Johnson | Yonatan Levy | |
| PF | Shaleak Bryant | Artyum Zabalin | |
| SF | Amit Suss | Or Askhenzi | |
| SG | | Anim Sacar | |
| PG | Jermi Sangalin | Koren Jorno | Iddo Harel |
* The Israeli League rule requires every team to have at least one Israeli on the court at any time.
* There should be at least 7 Israelis and up to 5 foreigners on a 12-men game sheet.
Source: basket.co.il
Chealey, Joe 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 27 – 1 November 1995 PG 5 Israel Jorno, Koren 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) 24 – 21 November 1998 CG 55 Israel

## Honours
### Domestic competitions

* Israeli Championship
    Runners-up: 1998, 2015
* State Cup
    Runners-up: 2014
* League Cup
    Runners-up: 2015, 2021

#### Lower division competitions

* Liga Artzit (2nd)
    Winners: 1991 (South Division)
* Association Cup
    Champions (1): 2011

## Notable players

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
* Criteria
* To appear in this section a player must have either:
* Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
* Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
* Played at least one official NBA match at any time.
* Lior Arditty 2 seasons: '91–'93
* Brian Rowsom 4 seasons: '91–'95
* Joe Dawson 5 seasons: '91–'94, '96–'98
* Willie Sims 4 seasons: '92–'96
* Nenad Marković 1 season: '96
* Corey Gaines 1 season: '96–'97
* Meir Tapiro 2 seasons: '96–'98
* Amir Katz 3 seasons: '96–'99
* Dennis Hopson 1 season: '97
* Ed Elisma 1 season: '97–'98
* Derrick Hamilton 1 season: '97–'98
* Greg Newton 1 season: '98–'99
* Scotty Hopson 1 season: '12–'13
* Afik Nissim 6 seasons: '12–'18
* Christian Watford 1 season: '13–'14
* Yancy Gates 1 season: '13–'14
* Niv Berkowitz 3 seasons: '13–'15, '17–'18
* Elishay Kadir 3 seasons: '13–'16
* Kevin Palmer 3 seasons: '13–'16
* Adrian Uter 1 season: '14–'15
* Khalif Wyatt 2 seasons: '14–'16
* Amit Simhon 3 seasons: '14–'16, '17–'18
* DeAndre Kane 1 season: '16
* Alade Aminu 1 season: '15–'16
* Landon Milbourne 1 season: '16–'17
* Pierriá Henry 1 season: '16–'17
* Jordan Loyd 1 season: '17–'18
* Demetrius Treadwell 1 season: '17–'18
* Frédéric Bourdillon 2 seasons: '17–'19
* Elijah Bryant 1 season: '18–'19
* JP Tokoto 1 season: '18–'19
* Suleiman Braimoh 1 season: '18–'19
* Shimon Amsalem
* Ari Rosenberg

## Participation in Europe

* 1993–1994: Korać Cup
* 1994–1995: Korać Cup
* 1997–1998: ULEB Eurocup
* 1998–1999: Saporta Cup
Even though Eilat has constantly qualified for European basketball they choose not to participate due to financial difficulties.

## Former managers

* Israel Lev
* Ralf Klein
* Effi Birnbaum
* Sharon Drucker
* Arik Shivek
* Udi Segal
* Moshe Weinkrantz