Ami Shelef (עמי שלף; September 20, 1936 - December 24, 1988) was an Israeli basketball player and coach. He played the center position. He played in the

Israel Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball co ...

, and for the

Israeli national basketball team The Israel men's national basketball team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בכדורסל) represents Israel in international basketball tournaments. They are administered by the Israeli Basketball Association. Israel is currently ranked 33rd in the ...

Biography

Shelef was born in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

, and was 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) tall. He played in the

for Hapoel

Givat Brenner Givat Brenner ( he, גִּבְעַת בְּרֶנֶר, lit. ''Brenner Hill''; ar, غفعات برينر), is a kibbutz in the Central District of Israel. Located around south of Rehovot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Brenner Regional C ...

and Hapoel Tel Aviv. Shelef competed for the

. He played in the 1961 European Championship for Men, 1963 European Championship for Men, 1965 European Championship for Men, and 1966 Asian Games Basketball Championship (winning a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

). Later, Shelef was a physical education teacher in

Be'er Sheva Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...

, and coached Hapoel

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of ...

and Hapoel Tel Aviv. His sons Uri Shelef and Gur Shelef also played in the Israel Basketball Premier League, and for the Israeli national basketball team. He died of cancer at 52 years of age.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelef, Ami 1936 births 1988 deaths Sportspeople from Haifa Mandatory Palestine sportsmen Israeli men's basketball players Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. players Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. coaches Israeli basketball coaches Israeli Basketball Premier League players Deaths from cancer in Israel Jews from Mandatory Palestine Asian Games medalists in basketball Basketball players at the 1966 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for Israel Medalists at the 1966 Asian Games