ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran’s wheelchair basketball team beat Beit Halochem Jerusalem on June 14 by a score of 54-44 to claim Israel’s National B League Wheelchair Basketball Championship.
The heated finals match was the perfect ending for two teams who have exchanged first place repeatedly throughout the season, as well as a moment of profound validation for the staff, residents and patients of the world-renowned rehabilitation village.
With more than 100 screaming fans from the village in attendance, the diverse and multi-talented team made an impressive fourth-quarter push to jolt a comeback and seal the win.
“When the moment came to raise the championship plate in the air, my heart was full, and I was bursting with pride,” said Liad Uriel, ADI Negev’s team captain. “I was surrounded by my teammates, who are like siblings to me, and we looked out at a gym filled with boisterous fans celebrating our achievement. What I was feeling at that moment is difficult to put into words. That was the moment when our hard work and belief in our abilities all came together.”
Established three years ago, ADI Negev’s wheelchair basketball team boasts a roster of 16 women and men ranging in age from 11 to 41, all of whom are outpatients at the Kaylie Rehabilitation Medical Center at ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran, including several war-wounded IDF soldiers. The team provides these passionate patient-athletes with opportunities for disability empowerment and advancement within an unmatched supportive familial framework.
Team member Yagel Weizman, a 21-year-old resident of Ofakim battling a nervous system disease, has been a core member of the team since the beginning and expressed jubilation following the big win.
“My illness hit me at the end of 12th grade at a pretty critical time in my life, just before I would have been drafted to the IDF. Being hospitalized primarily with people much older than me and getting up every day to do the same physical therapy exercises was debilitating. And then, basketball came into my life at ADI Negev,” she explained.
“I enjoyed it immediately and looked forward to training every day,” continued Weizman. “It gave me meaning at a time when my body was really weak. I would throw the ball up and not be able to reach the basket at all. But I practiced, persevered and trusted in God and my coaches, and I made improvements that allowed me to make meaningful contributions to the winning team.”
By reimagining rehabilitation, ADI is advancing ability for all—empowering children, adolescents and adults with severe disabilities and pioneering cutting-edge therapeutic and recovery services for anyone touched by disability. Since Oct. 7, 2023, ADI has provided the individualized care needed to ensure the consistent growth and long-term mental health of Israel’s most vulnerable citizens.
To learn more about ADI, visit adi-israel.org.
