Israel NT for Eurobasket 2009

[Black Urum]

via eurobasket2009.org

An era has come to an end in Israel with captain Meir Tapiro announcing his retirement from the national team.



At the age of 34, combo-guard Tapiro has decided to clear the floor for the next generation and wished Israel the very best in the upcoming EuroBasket in Poland.



After making five EuroBasket appearances in a row, he won't be present for the Final Round in September.



"I announce my retirement from the national team," Tapiro announced at a press conference.



"Throughout my life I had to take a lot of different decisions, but this one was the most difficult. It's anything but easy for me to leave such a home.



"I received a lot of love and warmth when I wore the uniforms of the national team.



"To wear these uniforms and listen to the national anthem on court made me excited like a kid time after time."



Tapiro was very effective in the qualification campaign but he just believes the time has come to leave.



"On the one side there's the love for the flag and the symbols of the national team, but then I realized that everything has a finish line," he said.



After two qualifying campaigns in which Israel had to use the Additional Qualifying Round to make it to the EuroBasket, with Tapiro playing a big role in each, the team this time earned a direct straight from Division A.



For Tapiro it made a difference.



"If we hadn't make it to EuroBasket last summer, I believe I would have continued to play with the team, to try and help it survive another Additional Qualifying Round road because I know how important it is for Israeli basketball to play in a EuroBasket," he said.



"Once I realized it wasn't the case, I felt it was time to give the young generation of players a chance to prove themselves."



Tapiro's first EuroBasket was in 1999 but he didn't start to make a big impact until two years later.



In 2001, he had 21 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in an opening against France and later on he led Israel in a thrilling contest against Spain that Israel only lost in the final seconds to be eliminated.



In 2003 (Sweden) came the high point of his national team years when Israel qualified for the Quarter-Finals for the first time since 1983. At that championship, he was ranked 20th in points (11.9), sixth in field goal percentage (49.2%), fourth in assists (3.4) and third in steals (1.9).



At EuroBasket 2007, Tapiro was second in assists only to Sarunas Jasikevicius with five per game.



"Nowadays to make it to a EuroBasket is a great achievement for any national team," he said.



"We had an amazing tour in Sweden and also in the last EuroBasket we were close to making it to the last eight teams after we beat big teams as Serbia and Croatia."



"There's still a huge hunger in me for success and I believe I can still play basketball at a high level, but I reached the conclusion it will be better for my career to retire from the national team at this stage."



National team head coach Zvika Sherf said: "I coached Meir from a very early age, and still remember the three-pointer he scored to win the finals of the High School league.



"I took him on my team at the age of 19 and saw a young player who's the only one that can perform his best in a house of hell LIKE PAOK Thessaloniki's home arena in a key European competition game."



Sherf also revealed this wasn't the first time Tapiro suggested the option of retiring from the national squad.



"Four years ago, Meir told me he planned to quit the team but I talked him into staying," Sherf said. "The things he has done in those four years with the national team are things I wish for any national player team to achieve.



"I know how much Meir sacrificed for the team. In the last four years, he became the leader. We want to give him the biggest hug and enormous love for the ways he contributed to Israeli basketball."