Newspaper Page Text
'Everything Is beautiful'
American black is mainstay
:r. Israeli basketball team
LANDSCAPE CONTRACTOR
COMMERCIAL-RESIDENTIAL
COMPLETE GROUND DESIGN SERVICE
|« WO*i• TapM* • Tmm • ttmmmOar
ESTIMATE
By Joel Epstein
When Israel’s semi-pro Mac-
cabi Tel Aviv basketball team
won a one-point victory in the
European basketball cham
pionship last week, it was an
American black, Aulcie Perry,
whose outstanding rebounding
sparked the Israeli defense.
The victory was greeted by
Israelis as another victory of
David over Goliath. While the
Israelis dashed like ferrets
around the taller, heavier teams,
Aulcie used skills he learned
playing pro ball in New York to
keep the Russians from scoring.
And when Aulcie and his
teammates returned to Israel
after the game, they were given
a hero’s welcome. “I felt a lot of
Israeli nationalism then,” said
26-year old Aulcie. “But for me,
winning was mostly a personal
victory and a team victory.”
How did a New Jersey boy end
up playing basketball for Israel
6,000 miles from home? “I
played college ball when I was a
student at Bethune Cookman
College in Daytona Beach,
Florida,” said Aulcie. “Then I
began playing summer league in
New York. Israel manager
Embattled Premier Rabin takes time out to congratulate
Aulcie Perry.
Shmuel Maharovsky scouted me
out and brought me here for a
tryout, and I’ve been playing
here since the beginning of the
season.”
At first Aulcie faced a lot of
problems. “It was lonely, I didn’t
speak Hebrew and I didn’t know
anyone. It’s hard coming all of a
sudden to a strange country
across the ocean.”
Arkla.
gas
wm the new Flavor
Add fun and extra flavor to your
meals this summer Cook out on
an Arkla gas grill fueled with clean,
efficient natural gas. You’ll save
energy, too, because the Flavor
King grill uses only 3/4 as much
natural gas to cook a complete
meal as some models.
Cooking out also helps save on
the energy it takes to keep your
house cool in hot weather
The grill shown here is Arkla’s
Flavor King model. Lets you cook
up to 16 hamburgers or eight one-
pound steaks, all at one time.
Features three heat settings,
lone life briquettes and stainfc-
steel cooking grid. Terms arr^
available. Enjoy cooking out with
gas, your best-cooking, best-energy
saving buy.
Model GRD-30 shown $169.00
includes normal installation
Other models also available.
Atlanta Gas Light Company
Georgia Natural Gas Company
trwmumiMinm
But he quickly adjusted.
"The team members were great,
invited me over and introduced
me to their friends. I’m meeting
more and more people who speak
English, and everything is
beautiful.”
One of the problems he did not
face was racial discrimination.
“I’ve never experienced it,” he
said. “Maybe it’s because I play
ball, maybe it's because my
friends on the team are cool, but
I feel like anyone else.”
Aulcie lives at the Pal Hotel,
one of the swankiest in Tel Aviv,
overlooking the Mediterranean
Sea. As a pro, he earns an es
timated $20,000 a year — big
money by Israeli standards.
Despite recent offers to play
for more money in Europe,
Aulcie Perry has no plans to
leave Israel. “I doubt if I’ll
move,” he said “The organization
and the team here are great, and
everything is cool.”
At 6 ft. 10 in., Aulcie stands a
head taller than the shortest
Israeli player. He usually plays
center or forward. “Playing in
Europe took some getting used
to,” he reports.
“I was accustomed to Ameri
can pro ball, with a lot of
contact. Here there is no body
contact at all. I have to
remember not to lean on the
players here. But it is also a lot
easier to move around when
there’s no 250-pound opponent
holding you down.”
*»LHow does he understand the
Israeli coach? “No problem,”
says Aulcie. “Most of the
coaching is in English — many
of the players are American im
migrants — and there’s always
someone around to translate
from Hebrew.” jrwkh noridi™
Nations try lor
purity of 'Mod*
ATHENS, GREECE (ZINS)
— Sixteen countries which
border on the Mediterranean Sea
recently participated in a con
ference which aims to safeguard
the purity of the sea. Among the
participating countries were
representatives from Israel,
Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia,
Lybia, Egypt and Lebanon. The
Arab representatives are work
ing together with the Israelies
but their relations are limited
and formal. The Lybiana have
avoided any contact with the
Israelis thus far. ^