Rafi Menco
רפי מנקו
Menco with Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2022
No. 8 – Maccabi Tel Aviv
PositionSmall forward
LeagueLigat HaAl
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (1994-03-05) 5 March 1994
Jerusalem, Israel
Listed height2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)
Listed weight100 kg (220 lb)
Career information
NBA draft2016: undrafted
Playing career2012–present
Career history
2012–2017Hapoel Jerusalem
2014–2015→ Hapoel Gilboa Galil
2016–2017→ Hapoel Eilat
2017–2018Hapoel Tel Aviv
2018–2020Hapoel Eilat
2020–2021Élan Chalon
2021–2022Hapoel Holon
2022–presentMaccabi Tel Aviv
Career highlights and awards

Rafael "Rafi" Menco (Hebrew: רפי מנקו; born 5 March 1994) is an Israeli professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the EuroLeague. He was named the Israeli Basketball Premier League Most Improved Player in 2017, and an Israeli Basketball Premier League All-Star in 2019.

Early life

Menco was born in Jerusalem. He played basketball for Wingate Institute youth academy.[1]

Professional career

Early years (2012–2016)

In 2012, Menco started his professional career with Hapoel Jerusalem. On 21 October 2012, Menco made his professional debut in a match against Hapoel Tel Aviv.[2]

On 17 July 2014, Menco was loaned to Hapoel Gilboa Galil for the 2014–15 season.[3] On 25 April 2015, Menco recorded a season-high 18 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the field, along with five rebounds, two assists, and three steals in an 89–72 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv.[4] In 31 games played for Gilboa Galil, he averaged 7.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.

On 20 June 2015, Menco signed a three-year deal with Hapoel Jerusalem.[5] On 3 February 2016, Menco recorded a season-high 18 points, shooting 8-of-12 from the field, along with five rebounds and four steals in a 94–103 loss to Avtodor Saratov.[6] Menco won the 2016 Israeli League Cup title with Jerusalem.

Hapoel Eilat (2016–2017)

On 25 November 2016, Menco was loaned to Hapoel Eilat for the 2016–17 season.[7] On 20 March 2017, Menco recorded a double-double of 22 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, shooting 8-of-12 from the field, leading Eilat to a 94–85 win over Maccabi Rishon LeZion. He was subsequently named Israeli League Round 23 MVP.[8][9] On 29 March, Menco was named the Israeli Player of the Month for games played in March.[10]

In 28 games played for Eilat, he averaged 9.3 points, 6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Menco helped Eilat reach the 2017 Israeli League Playoffs as the second seed, but they eventually were eliminated by Maccabi Rishon LeZion in the Quarterfinals. On 6 June 2017, Menco was named co-Israeli Basketball Premier League Most Improved Player, alongside Idan Zalmanson[11] and earned a spot in the All-Israeli League Second Team.[12]

Hapoel Tel Aviv (2017–2018)

On 26 July 2017, Menco joined Hapoel Tel Aviv, signing a one-year deal with an option for another one.[13] On 2 January 2018, Menco recorded a season-high 17 points, shooting 7-of-14 from the field, along with six rebounds and two assists in a 77–73 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv.[14] Menco helped Hapoel reach the 2018 Israeli League Final Four for the first time in 13 years.

On 5 July 2018, Menco signed a one-year contract extension with Hapoel.[15] However, on 5 December 2018, Menco parted ways with Hapoel.[16]

Return to Eilat (2018–2020)

On 24 December 2018, Menco returned to Hapoel Eilat for a second stint, signing for the rest of the season.[17] In 28 games played for Eilat during the 2018–-19 season, he averaged 8.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game, while shooting 43.2 percent from three-point range. Menco helped Eilat reach the 2019 Israeli League Final Four, where they eventually lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv.

On 3 November 2019, Menco recorded a then career-high 24 points, shooting 10-of-12 from the field in a 90–81 win over Hapoel Holon. Three days later, he was named Israeli League Round 5 MVP.[18] On 16 February 2020, Menco recorded a career-high 25 points, while shooting 9-of-12 from the field, along with seven rebounds and three assists, leading Eilat to an 89-84 win over Ironi Nahariya. He was subsequently named Israeli League Round 19 MVP.[19] He averaged 13.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.[20]

Élan Chalon (2020–2021)

On 17 July 2020, Menco signed with Élan Chalon of the LNB Pro A.[20] On 13 September 2020, Élan Chalon won the pre-season LUXTROPHY tournament, and Menco rewarded to be the MVP[21] of the tournament with 17 points and evaluation of 21.

Hapoel Holon (2021–present)

On 29 July 2021, Menco signed with Hapoel Holon of the Israeli Basketball Premier League.[22]

National team career

Menco is a member of the Israeli national basketball team. On 24 November 2017, he made his first appearance for the senior team at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification match against Estonia.[23]

Menco was also a member of the U-16, U-18 and U-20 Israeli national teams.

References

  1. ↑ "פרוייקט אור הזרקורים: הכירו את רפי מנקו". one.co.il (in Hebrew). 3 June 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  2. ↑ "Winner League, Game 2: Hapoel J-M Vs Hapoel TA". basket.co.il. 21 October 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  3. ↑ "רפי מנקו צפוי לעבור בהשאלה להפועל גלבוע/גליל". one.co.il (in Hebrew). 17 July 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  4. ↑ "Winner League, Game 29: Gilboa/Galil Vs M. Tel-Aviv". basket.co.il. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "רפי מנקו חתם על חוזה משודרג ל-3 שנים בי-ם". Sport5.co.il (in Hebrew). 20 June 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  6. ↑ "Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem vs. Avtodor Saratov - Game". eurocupbasketball.com. 3 February 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  7. ↑ "עובר דרומה: רפי מנקו הושאל לאילת". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). 25 November 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  8. ↑ "מצטיין המחזור ה-23: רפי מנקו". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). 20 March 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  9. ↑ "צפו: ערב השיא של רפי מנקו". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). 23 March 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  10. ↑ "השחקן הישראלי של החודש: רפי מנקו". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). 29 March 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  11. ↑ "השחקן המשתפר: עידן זלמנסון ורפי מנקו". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). 6 June 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  12. ↑ "חמישיית מצטייני העונה בליגת ווינר סל". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). 9 June 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  13. ↑ "Rafi Menco signs two-year deal with Hapoel Tel Aviv". Sportando.basketball. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  14. ↑ "Winner League, Game 11: M. Tel-Aviv Vs Hapoel TA". basket.co.il. 2 January 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  15. ↑ "רפי מנקו נשאר בהפועל "SP מצר" ת"א". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). 5 July 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  16. ↑ "רפי מנקו סיים את דרכו בהפועל". hapoelta.org (in Hebrew). 5 December 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  17. ↑ "חוזר דרומה: רפי מנקו חתם באילת". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). 24 December 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  18. ↑ "מצטיין המחזור החמישי: רפי מנקו". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). 6 November 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  19. ↑ "מצטיין המחזור ה-19: רפי מנקו". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). 17 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  20. 1 2 Borghesan, Ennio Terrasi (17 July 2020). "Elan Chalon tabs Rafi Menco". Sportando. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  21. ↑ "מנקו נבחר ל-MVP בטורניר הכנה עם שאלון". Sport5.co.il - אתר ערוץ הספורט (in Hebrew). 14 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  22. ↑ Carchia, Emiliano (29 July 2021). "Hapoel Holon lands Rafi Menco". Sportando. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  23. ↑ "Israel v Estonia boxscore - FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers". fiba.basketball. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
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