While eight players have already been signed and the preparations for the next season are at their peak, Hapoel Tel Aviv held a special press conference today (Thursday) in the presence of Ofer Yanai and Villervan’s owner, Tony Parker, in which they announced cooperation and holding a preparatory tournament in the summer in the presence of the teams. The journey was broadcast live here on the website.
Yanai announced at the opening: “I said in the past that to build a great club you need cooperation with the best, sitting next to me is Tony Parker, the legend of basketball. I am happy to announce that an international preparatory tournament will be hosted in Tel Aviv with the participation of Hapoel Jerusalem, Hapoel Tel Aviv Villerban and Ritas Vilnius. The first tournament in Israel since October 7.”
Parker said: “This is my first time in Israel, I have friends here and I enjoyed the last two days. Was I afraid to come to Israel? Not at all, I trust my friends and they told me it’s very safe. I don’t want to talk about politics, I’m here for the sport, I love peace and want basketball to reach the whole world.”
Yanai referred to the advantage that the tournament will give in relation to the return of the games to Israel: “For sure it will help a lot. Tony can testify, he was surprised when he got here and saw that everything was safe and calm. When you look at things from the side, it seems like there is a lot of mess, but that is not the case.”
Parker added: “Ofer has a great passion for basketball and I love it, I met him through Matan, Noam Yaakov’s agent. We built a good relationship and when I saw the passion and what he is trying to build in Hapoel Tel Aviv, I decided I wanted to support it. That’s why Villerban will participate in the tournament in September.”
Regarding Israeli basketball from his perspective, he said: “The industry here is progressing. I played against Omri Caspi and when Matan talked to me about Noam, I got the impression that this is true for his development. He is an NBA prospect, he will have a great opportunity to get more minutes and I hope he will have a good season in Hapoel and next year he will be selected in the draft.”
On the possibility of having two Israeli teams in the Euroleague: “I don’t see any reason why it won’t happen. We want to grow in the Euroleague and we talked about increasing the league in the coming years. When there is an owner like Ofer who wants to invest in basketball, it can only help the European industry. I support him and that’s why I’m here, I see no reason why it shouldn’t happen, in football there are many cities with two teams, such as Madrid, London, Rome, Athens and more.”
Yanai was asked about the location of the games and replied: “Maybe in Tel Aviv, maybe in Jerusalem, we have to see. It will have nothing to do with where Hapoel Tel Aviv will host its games next season, that’s a different issue, we’ll finish building the squad in a few weeks and then we’ll decide on this issue.”
Parker commented on the food he ate at Ofer’s mother’s: “It was very tasty, his mother’s food is the tastiest by far.” About Villerban’s academy he said: “We are always looking for new players and look forward to more talents coming to us. I have been traveling the world all my life. 98% of the players in the academy will not be professionals, so I make sure that those who can will get there, but I try to help the rest as well.”
The legend of the past also spoke about the flourishing of basketball in his homeland and referred to the team he is associated with, the San Antonio Spurs: “French basketball is in an excellent time and I hope they will prove it at the Olympic Games. San Antonio? I loved the draft picks and the signing of Chris Paul, I just texted him that it’s strange to see him in the team after so many years of playing against him, he’ll be a big help to Victor Wambanyama. They won’t immediately win the championship, but the direction looks very good.”
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