Player returns from year in Spain "delighted and excited."
By ALLON SINAILior Eliyahu(photo credit: FIBA EUROPE Web Site)
After one year in Spain, Lior Eliyahu is back at Maccabi Tel Aviv.The 24-year-old forward signed a five-year contract with the yellow-and-blue on Tuesday, leaving Caja Laboral Vitoria just one season after agreeing to a three-year deal.Maccabi had been chasing Eliyahu’s signature for several months, but could only finalize the deal on Tuesday after Vitoria agreed to release him.Eliyahu, who spent the last month helping the Israel national team book its place in next summer’s EuroBasket tournament, thanked Vitoria for allowing him to return home and is looking forward to the coming campaign.“I’m delighted and excited,” said Eliyahu, who averaged 8.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in the Euroleague last season.“I experienced an interesting season and won the Spanish championship, but I wanted to return home to Maccabi. A long-term contract was ideal for both sides and we quickly came to an agreement.”Eliyahu becomes the seventh player to be signed by new coach David Blatt.He follows in the footsteps of Greece big-man Sofoklis Schortsanitis, Tal Burstein, Richard Hendrix, Jeff Foote, Jeremy Pargo and Elishay Kadir, whose future is now unclear following Eliyahu’s arrival.Maccabi also signed Mikhail Torrance earlier this summer, but the 21-year-old collapsed during a workout August. 20, only regaining consciousness last Wednesday.On Monday, the former Alabama guard walked without assistance for the first time since his near-fatal heart attack, but he will not be playing at Nokia Arena next season.
