Jerusalem--It was well before dawn, but a couple of religious students in skull caps sat in a Jerusalem bar before one of seven televisions, all of them beaming a basketball game from faraway America.
"You should never eulogise David Blatt," said one of the students, 25-year-old Hillel Cohen, referring to an Israeli-American coach stalking the sideline and his ability to confound critics.
"In Israel, this is what he taught us," he added as a crowd of about 50 locals and foreigners watched at the bar, including a 20-year-old soldier dressed in olive green fatigues, his M16 resting on his lap.
The coach, still making his name in the United States, is already something of a legend in Israel, and his team's run to the finals of the US National Basketball Association in his first year at the helm has stoked pride and created new fans of the sport here.
Support has come from the highest levels. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him last month after Blatt's Cleveland Cavaliers advanced to the finals to congratulate him.
Some have been staying up or waking early to watch games that can begin at 4:00 am to see whether Blatt, who played professionally in Israel and coached local powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv to a European title, can succeed in the world's biggest basketball league.
Blatt's Cavaliers have been battling the Golden State Warriors in the best-of-seven championship series.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr also has a connection to the Middle East. His father Malcolm, a respected academic and author who specialised in the region, was shot dead in Beirut in 1984.
Despite a strong start, Blatt's Cavs are currently down three games to two and Golden State can clinch the title by winning the next game, set for Tuesday night in the United States.
Should Cleveland rally and win the series, it would mean much more than a sports title for many Israelis eager to see David conquer Goliath, even though the coach has come under fire in the United States over some questionable calls.
"It's craziness," said Sharon Davidovitch, a sports writer for Israeli news website Ynet and Yediot Aharonot newspaper, describing the attention generated by Blatt's title quest.
"Everyone is talking about David Blatt, even a lot of people who don't understand a lot about the NBA or a lot about basketball."
AFP
