Hapoel Jerusalem have officially loaned guard Rani Belaga to Hapoel Galil Elyon for the coming season, ONE reports, giving one of Israeli basketball's most closely watched young prospects a shot at regular minutes in the Premier League.
Belaga, 20, is a product of the Hapoel Emek Hefer academy who signed with Hapoel Jerusalem in the summer of 2024 but has spent the last two seasons out on loan with A.S. Ramat Hasharon in the National League, developing away from the capital's senior spotlight.
The move to the Upper Galilee club, according to the report, is meant to fast-track that development at the top level. Hapoel Galil Elyon, based in Kfar Blum and historically nicknamed "the college of Israeli basketball" for the string of national-team players it has produced, has long built its identity around developing young guards.
The 1.97-metre guard arrives with real momentum. He captained Israel's U20 national team through the European Championship this summer, a tournament in which he became, according to reports, the first Israeli player to record a triple-double at the event.
In his most recent National League season with Ramat Hasharon, Belaga averaged around 11 points, four rebounds and roughly 3.6-3.7 assists per game in limited minutes, numbers that helped establish him as one of the league's most promising young ball-handlers.
ONE quotes the Galil Elyon organisation describing what it expects Belaga to bring to the roster: leadership, intensity, and the ability to create shots for himself and teammates, alongside character on and off the court.
For Hapoel Jerusalem, the loan keeps Belaga's rights in the capital while letting him test himself in a senior Premier League rotation before, the club will hope, a fuller integration into its own squad down the line.
