Eric Alfasi ( he, אריק אלפסי; July 1, 1972 – September 22, 2021) was an Israeli professional

basketball coach Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...

and a professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He was the head coach of Hapoel Eilat of the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

Biography

As a basketball player

In his youth he was a basketball player. He played for the team

Maccabi Netanya Maccabi Netanya F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל מכבי נתניה, ''Football Club Maccabi Netanya'') is an Israeli football club based in Netanya. Established in 1934, the club was a founding member of the Israeli League in 1949. Afte ...

. He also played a number of seasons in the senior side of the team. He retired in his late 20s.

As a coach

In 2002 he began to coach the youth team of

and in 2008 he made his debut as a senior coach as

Ironi Ashkelon Elitzur Ashkelon ( he, אליצור אשקלון) was a professional basketball team based in Ashkelon in south-west Israel. The team reached the quarterfinals of the EuroCup Challenge in 2006 Liga Leumit Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League. Structure There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-place ...

with a record of 33 wins and only 1 defeat. In his second season with the team he led them to the 2009–10 Israeli Final Four where they lost to

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

and finished 4th. In his third season he led the team to the

Israeli Basketball State Cup 2010–11 Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * Israeli (newspaper), ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 20 ...

finals where they again lost to Tel Aviv. In July 2011 he made his way back to Ironi Ashkelon as he signed a contract for one season. On December 23, 2013, it was announced that he would replace Nati Cohen. After one season he signed on to coach

Ironi Nahariya Ironi Nahariya Basketball Club ( he, מועדון הכדורסל עירוני נהריה; ) known for sponsorship reasons as Ironi Rain Nahariya () is a professional basketball club based in city of Nahariya in northern Israel. The team plays in t ...

. On June 21, 2019, Alfasi was named Hapoel Eilat head coach, signing a two-year deal.

Death

Alfasi died after being hospitalized with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

on September 22, 2021, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Israel The COVID-19 pandemic in Israel also known as the coronavirus pandemic in Israel ( he, מגפת הקורונה בישראל) is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavir ...

. He was 49 years old.

Honours

* Domestic Cup: **Runner-up (1): 2010-11 *

Liga Leumit Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League. Structure There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-place ...

: **Champion (1): 2008-09 **Regular season champion (1): 2008-09 * Israeli Basketball Super League Manager of the Month (1): **October 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alfasi, Eric 1972 births 2021 deaths Israeli men's basketball players Barak Netanya B.C. players Israeli Jews Israeli basketball coaches Ironi Ashkelon coaches Barak Netanya B.C. coaches Maccabi Ashdod B.C. coaches Ironi Nahariya coaches Hapoel Eilat B.C. coaches Elitzur Eito Ashkelon coaches Jewish men's basketball players Sportspeople from Netanya Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel