Subscribe to Print Edition | Sun., October 12, 2008 Tishrei 13, 5769 | | Israel Time: 18:48 (EST+7)
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Bnei Hasharon banks on Ebi to slay Maccabi Tel Aviv
By Ofer Matan

Only at Bnei Hasharon could Ndudi Ebi's success story have occurred. The Nigerian player landed at Bnei Hasharon earlier in the season with baggage that seemed to assure his signing would turn out a failure: Ebi had not completed a single season at a team for the past five consecutive years.

As a teenager, Ebi moved with his family to Texas where he won three consecutive state championships with his high school. Instead of playing college basketball, he decided to turn pro and was selected 26th in the draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. But he could not make the cut in the big leagues and embarked on five years of wandering, until he ended up at Bnei Hasharon.
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Indeed, Ebi is an excellent player who has no experience fitting in with teams.

Had Ebi arrived at a place like Maccabi Tel Aviv, he would have surely failed. The pressures would probably hav e been too much for him. But Bnei Hasharon is a smaller team, allowing Ebi to blend in naturally.

"I came to Israel because I wanted to finally play a whole season without thinking about tomorrow," Ebi says. "I like enjoying the trust of others and having them be dependent on me, and me being dependent on them."

Too big for the league

At times it seemed Ebi was too big for the Israeli league. During the game against Gilboa/Afula, he ran coast-to-coast after intercepting a pass and then slam-dunked after bouncing the ball off the board. At other times he was charged with raw emotions and seemed like he had had enough of basketball. Coach Effi Birenboim, however, knew how to calm his nerves and demand discipline while maintaining good relations with his player.

"He loses his concentration," Birenboim said. "Of course, it happens to every player and some react to it by taking it personally while others just become apathetic. I personally prefer those who take it to heart. His talent knows almost no limits."

Some of that latent talent Ebi was fully exhibited in the previous encounter with Maccabi Tel Aviv, where he did everything, from taking rebounds to nailing three-pointers -and even play-making at one point. Without a doubt, the Nigeria-born 2.06 meters Ndudi Ebi will be the key if Bnei Hasharon is to take on the yellow empire from Tel Aviv in the semi finals leg.
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