Tomer Ginat of Boulogne Metropolitans 92 has acquitted himself very nicely to the 7DAYS EuroCup in his first season in the competition. Read more about it in the first edition of the big man's EuroCupBasketball.com blog.
Tomer Ginat, Metropolitans: 'We're a family'
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Tomer Ginat of Boulogne Metropolitans 92 has acquitted himself very nicely to the 7DAYS EuroCup in his first season in the competition. Playing abroad for the first time in his career, the Israeli big man is one of only two players to start each of his team’s first four games this season and he's the only one to score in double figures in all of them. Even though the adjustment to life in France wasn't easy at first, Ginat is happy with his decision to join Metropolitans and he will periodically during the season share what’s it’s been like for him so far in this EuroCupBasketball.com blog.
First, let me introduce myself. My name is Tomer Ginat and I am 25 years old. I was born in Nahariya, which is the north-most city on the coast in Israel. Four years ago I moved to the center of Israel to play for Hapoel Tel Aviv. I had four wonderful years there, but then I felt I was ready for the next step in my career.
When I received an offer to play for Metropolitans, I had no doubt that this was the right place for me. I saw the growth that this club has had in the past few years and I was also attracted by the fact that we will play in two competitions this season - the French League and the EuroCup. I already feel that I made the right choice; I'm enjoying every moment here and I feel that I am growing as a player.
"To get better as a player, sometimes you have to leave your comfort zone."
When I first came here two and a half months ago, it wasn't so easy. After all, this was the first time that I would be living outside of Israel. I left everything important to me behind. I missed my family, I missed my friends, I missed my mother's home cooking. I was a stranger in a foreign land. I came into a new apartment that should be my home for at least the next 10 months. It wasn't easy for me.
Everyone here at the club did everything they could to make me feel that I was at home, whether it was the coaching staff, management or my teammates. Today I already feel that I am at home. I'm having fun, enjoying myself and we have a great team with great people and I'm making great friends. It's a lot of fun to be here.
I think that adjusting to living in a new place is a difficulty that every player who goes to play abroad has to deal with. To get better as a player, sometimes you have to leave your comfort zone. And I'm glad I did it.
Paris is an amazing city and it’s been fun for me to be here, despite all the limitations that there are right now because of the Coronavirus. I hope that soon the virus will be under control and I can enjoy more of the city and its unbelievable lifestyle. There's also a large Jewish community in Paris which has helped me feel a little bit more at home. So far, the weather has been great and there are a lot of places to hang out and new places for me to discover. There's no doubt that living in Paris is a huge bonus.
I think our team had a great connection from the beginning. It's a bunch of great guys and everyone came here to work hard. That's one of the most important things on a basketball team: that everybody comes to play for his teammate, one for the other, so that we will all be successful together. It was important for me to feel that connection in the beginning and to feel that I was a central part of the team. I enjoyed getting to know every one of my teammates and I feel that we're a family. There are guys here who I know I will be in contact with for the rest of my life.
"I feel like it's a test for me every game I play."
I have been playing a lot of time at the center position because Miralem Halilovic suffered an injury during the preseason. We hope he'll be back on the court with us as soon as possible. I know that he's supposed to start trying to practice with us soon. Until then, I will try to do my best to make up for his absence. Everyone on the team has to chip in to make up for him being out. He's a very important player for us and we need him to get back healthy as soon as possible.
Our first two games in the EuroCup were quite similar. We didn't start well in either of them and then we had to chase our opponents, Malaga and Buducnost, to make up the difference and close the gap. Then against Ulm and this week against Mornar Bar, which were games that we had to win to keep a realistic chance of advancing to the Top 16, we were a lot more determined from the opening tip. I think you could see that we are more aggressive and wanted it more than the first two games, both as a club and as individual players. These two wins have given us a lot more confidence. I think we look better as a team now and we've been able to make the adjustments that we needed, which was very important for our team.
But even though we're happy now, we still have six more games in the regular season and every one of them will be a battle. We have to play our best to get as many wins as possible to have a good chance of advancing to the Top 16.
Playing in the EuroCup at first was a very big challenge for me. The opponents presented a step up both in the level of the players and the teams compared to the Israeli League where I played my entire life until then. I still feel like it's a test for me every game I play. I'm working very hard to keep improving and to prove myself at this level.
As a team, we know that we have to put in the maximum effort both on offense and defense to win more games and put ourselves in a position to reach the Top 16. I have no doubt that if we work hard together, fight on the court and play the way we did in the past two games, we can do it.
Until the next time, Stay safe out there!