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Raguz joins Ramat Hasharon
Lior Klinger
,01/30/2005 |
Marianna Raguz, who played with Hapoel Tel Aviv from the start of the season joined Anda Ramat Hasharon and will play with the team only in Europe. Hapoel Tel Aviv realized their chances of making the upper playoffs are slim to none and there’s also no chance of them finishing last and being relegated so they decided releasing Raguz was the best move for both sides. Ramat Hasharon quickly jumped on the bargain, Raguz’ response is inside.
With four games left in the regular season Hapoel Tel Aviv is 7th in the standings with a 6-8 record while only the top 6 teams make the upper playoffs. Hapoel has 4 tough games left, against Ramat Hasharon, Bnie Yehuda, Raanana Herzeliya and Ramla. Haifa/Motzkin is 6th with a 7-7 record and they still have to play Ashdod & Jerusalem. This is why it’s not hard to understand why Hapoel gave up on the rest of the season.
Anda Ramat Hasharon will play in the Europe Cup’s conference south Final Four and they were happy to have a wonderful player like Marianna join the roster. “Hapoel Tel Aviv released her from their reasons, and the at moment she was offered to us we happily accepted”, said the team’s chairwoman, Rachel Ostrowitz. There’s no doubt that any team who could afford it would do the same, but Raguz says Ramat Hasharon was the only option.
The decision was made in the last two days, and after her first practice with Ramat Hasharon Raguz spoke about her new team: “Ramat Hasharon is a very good team with very good players, but it’s gonna be a challenge to come to a new team in the middle of the season like this. This is my 4th season in Israel and I know all the girls so I think I’ll be able to adjust pretty fast".
Raguz as mentioned will only be able to play in Europe, the regional Final Four will take place on the 9th & 10th of February and if Ramat Hasharon advance they will have 4 more games tops. Raguz admits it will be difficult to sit on the bench on Mondays but feels whole with her decision. “Playing in Europe has been a real goal of mine for a long time, I think this is an excellent opportunity for me to play at a higher level and this team has a great chance to make the final four”, she said.
Irony will be in attendance on Monday when Ramat Hasharon hosts none other than Hapoel Tel Aviv. Instead of scoring 20+ for the visitors, Raguz will be sitting on the local bench. “I know, I know!” said Raguz in agony, “I wish Hapoel all the best. I love both organizations, I’m caught in the middle here so may the best team win. I do want to take this opportunity to thank Hapoel, I love Hapoel, they’ve been great to me, I had such a great time playing there and I want to thank them for giving me this opportunity”.
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