Maccabi Threats to Leave Israeli League
Uri Savir ,06/08/2005
After a long discussion about changing the playoff system, 11 teams voted for, and only Maccabi, which voted against, said they'll leave the Israeli league. Shason and Bluthental are the candidates to replace Shelef.

Maccabi Tel Aviv's chairman, Shimon Mizrachi, told the Israeli league directorion that if the playoff system would change this summer, Maccabi will no longer play in the local league.

11 out of the 12 teams voted to change the current playoff system (best of 5 series) to the Euroleague's method, Final Four with one game in each of the semifinals and finals.

This isn't the first time Maccabi has threatened to leave the domestic league, but they never did. Several years ago, they've played in the Adriatic league, but that was in addition to the Israeli competition.

Meanwhile, Maccabi is already thinking of a replacement to Gur Shelef, who almost surely will leave the team this summer. Sharon Shason, who was released few days ago from Ural Great due to financial reasons, and David Bluthental from Benneton Treviso, seem like the leading candidates at the moment. Bluthental, who left Maccabi last summer, was waived from Sacramento a few days before the NBA season and has finished the season in Italy, after also playing a short period in St. Petersburg.






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