Israeli basketball without the contribution of strong Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Jerusalem squads was like Scottish soccer without a dominant Rangers and Celtic.

Rot, one of the driving forces behind Holon's title win, is a phenomenal replacement for Dror Hagag, who has spent most of the season sitting on the Maccabi Bench. The 23-year-old [Yuval Naimi], meanwhile, returned to Jerusalem from Givat Shmuel to give Goodes a quality alternative to Rot on the floor.

If Jerusalem gets the better of Tel Aviv this weekend, it could very well spell a new era in Israeli basketball, one in which [Maccabi] has a real, quality fight for the title each year.