Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv signed Israel national team forward Rafi Menco on a two-year contract. The 28-years old player, who stands at 6-7, joins the growing roster of head coach Oded Kattash. The two are familiar with each other, as Menco played under Kattash both in Hapoel Eilat and the Israeli national team. Menco arrives in Tel Aviv after winning the local championship alongside Guy Pnini with Hapoel Holon.
“I am happy to join such a big club as Maccabi, with all its history”, confirmed Menco to maccabi.co.il, “I played at Yad Eliyahu as an opponent many times and imagining myself as a Maccabi player is nice. I believe that when it happens I will have a feeling you can’t describe. I have watched Maccabi played in the EuroLeague so many times, with the arena filled with the great energies of the fans. I just wait and want to get started”.
“I am very pleased to join forces with Rafi once again”, said Kattash, “Apart of his personal abilities, he brings lots of energies and basketball IQ. He is a hard worker, made progress every year and joins Maccabi at his prime. He is ready, at the right age and with the right confidence”.
Rafi Menco is considered as one of the best shooters in Israeli basketball in recent years. He brings experience, can play both as a shooting guard and as a small forward and brings high energy and fighting spirit. He was born in March 1994 in Srigim, a small community about 17 miles west of Jerusalem. Since then, he made a long road as a basketball player.
Menco was recognized as one of the top talents in Israel at age 15, was a member of Israel’s youth national teams and joined Hapoel Jerusalem in 2012. He was loaned out to Gilboa-Galil, showed great qualities and returned to the capital until 2016. That’s when he moved south to Hapoel Eilat and played under Kattash, contributing 9.4 points (39.1% from deep), 6.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.
In 2017 Menco moved to Hapoel Tel Aviv and scored 9 points per game, with 45% from beyond the arc in the playoffs. He returned to Eilat in the middle of his second season with the Reds, and delivered 11.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 52.6% from 3-point range in the playoffs. In his next season with Eilat he made another leap and reached 13.4 points, 5.3 boards and 1.9 assists in the regular season.
In 2020 Menco worked on his French, as he moved to Chalon. He contributed 7.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 22 minutes per night with the French team, and went back to Israel the following summer. He was signed by Holon, where he made his mark as the leading Israeli player on the team that went on to win the championship. He started 21 out of 27 regular season game, played over 23 minutes on average, scored 9.5 points and grabbed 4.5 rebounds. In the playoffs he shot 47.1% from deep, including 6-of-9 in the finals.
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