Rafael "Rafi" Menco ( he, רפי מנקו; born March 5, 1994) is an Israeli 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 for

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 ...

of the

Israeli 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 sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

and the EuroLeague. He was named the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Most Improved Player The Israeli Basketball Premier League Most Improved Player, or Israeli Basketball Super League Most Improved Player, is an award given to the Most Improved Player of each season of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, which is the top-tier level ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, and an

All-Star in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Early life

Menco was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He played basketball for

Wingate Institute Wingate Institute ( he, מכון וינגייט), officially Orde Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sports ( he, המכון לחינוך גופני ולספורט ע"ש אורד וינגייט), is a sports training institute located so ...

youth academy.

Professional career

Early years (2012–2016)

In 2012, Menco started his professional career with

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...

. On October 21, 2012, Menco made his professional debut in a match against Hapoel Tel Aviv. On July 17, 2014, Menco was loaned to

Hapoel Gilboa Galil Hapoel Gilboa Galil ( he, הפועל גלבוע גליל) is a professional basketball club that is based in north-east Israel. The club plays its home game in the Israeli Basketball Premier League (the top tier of Israeli basketball) in a 2,250 ...

for the 2014–15 season. On April 25, 2015, Menco recorded a season-high 18 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the field, along with five rebounds, two assists, and three steals in an 89–72 win over

. In 31 games played for Gilboa Galil, he averaged 7.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. On June 20, 2015, Menco signed a three-year deal with

. On February 3, 2016, Menco recorded a season-high 18 points, shooting 8-of-12 from the field, along with five rebounds and four steals in a 94–103 loss to

Avtodor Saratov BC Avtodor (russian: БК «Автодор» Саратов), commonly known as simply Avtodor and internationally as Avtodor Saratov, is a Russian professional basketball club based in Saratov. It plays in the FIBA Europe Cup and in the VTB Unit ...

. Menco won the 2016 Israeli League Cup title with Jerusalem.

Hapoel Eilat (2016–2017)

On November 25, 2016, Menco was loaned to Hapoel Eilat for the 2016–17 season. On March 20, 2017, Menco recorded a double-double of 22 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, shooting 8-of-12 from the field, leading Eilat to a 94–85 win over Maccabi Rishon LeZion. He was subsequently named Israeli League Round 23 MVP. On March 29, Menco was named the Israeli Player of the Month for games played in March. In 28 games played for Eilat, he averaged 9.3 points, 6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Menco helped Eilat reach the 2017 Israeli League Playoffs as the second seed, but they eventually were eliminated by Maccabi Rishon LeZion in the Quarterfinals. On June 6, 2017, Menco was named co-

, alongside

Idan Zalmanson Idan Zalmanson ( he, עידן זלמנסון; born April 18, 1995) is an Israeli basketball player for Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C., Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He was named the Israeli Basketball Super League Most Improved P ...

and earned a spot in the All-Israeli League Second Team.

Hapoel Tel Aviv (2017–2018)

On July 26, 2017, Menco joined Hapoel Tel Aviv, signing a one-year deal with an option for another one. On January 2, 2018, Menco recorded a season-high 17 points, shooting 7-of-14 from the field, along with six rebounds and two assists in a 77–73 win over

. Menco helped Hapoel reach the 2018 Israeli League Final Four for the first time in 13 years. On July 5, 2018, Menco signed a one-year contract extension with Hapoel. However, on December 5, 2018, Menco parted ways with Hapoel.

Return to Eilat (2018–2020)

On December 24, 2018, Menco returned to Hapoel Eilat for a second stint, signing for the rest of the season. In 28 games played for Eilat during the 2018–-19 season, he averaged 8.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game, while shooting 43.2 percent from three-point range. Menco helped Eilat reach the 2019 Israeli League Final Four, where they eventually lost to

. On November 3, 2019, Menco recorded a then career-high 24 points, shooting 10-of-12 from the field in a 90–81 win over

Hapoel Holon Hapoel Holon Basketball Club ( he, מועדון הכדורסל הפועל חולון), known for sponsorship reasons as Hapoel Atsmon Playgrounds Holon (), is a professional basketball club based in Holon, Israel. The team plays in the Israeli B ...

. Three days later, he was named Israeli League Round 5 MVP. On February 16, 2020, Menco recorded a career-high 25 points, while shooting 9-of-12 from the field, along with seven rebounds and three assists, leading Eilat to an 89-84 win over

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 ...

. He was subsequently named Israeli League Round 19 MVP. He averaged 13.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

Élan Chalon (2020–2021)

On July 17, 2020, Menco signed with

Élan Chalon Élan Sportif Chalonnais, commonly known as Élan Chalon, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Chalon-sur-Saône, France. The team's main colors are red and white, and their mascot is a moose. The team's home arena is called ...

of the

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

. On September 13, 2020,

won the pre-season LUXTROPHY tournament, and Menco rewarded to be the MVP of the tournament with 17 points and evaluation of 21.

Hapoel Holon (2021–present)

On July 29, 2021, Menco signed with

of the

National team career

Menco is a member of 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 ...

. On November 24, 2017, he made his first appearance for the senior team at the

2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification was the first FIBA Basketball World Cup, World Cup for which teams had to qualify for under the new qualification system. The process determined 31 out of the 32 teams that participated at the 2019 ...

match against

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. Menco was also a member of the U-16, U-18 and U-20 Israeli national teams.

References

External links

RealGM profile

Eurobasket profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Menco, Rafi 1994 births Living people Competitors at the 2019 Summer Universiade Hapoel Eilat basketball players Hapoel Gilboa Galil players Hapoel Holon players Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. players Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. players Israeli men's basketball players Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players Small forwards