Legendary Israeli coach and player Shimon Shelah passes away at 94

Former Israel national team coach and player Shimon "Chinga" Shelah passed away on Thursday at the age of 94. Shelah, the father of former Israel national football team player Amir Shelah, was one of the greatest and most decorated coaches in the history of Israeli basketball, boasting 251 wins in 329 games, four Israeli championships, and two State Cups.

A native of Vilnius, Shelah immigrated to Israel in 1937 and began his basketball career with the Hapoel Tel Aviv youth team. He played four years for Hapoel Ma'ayan Baruch, including one season in the top league, and three years with Hapoel Tel Aviv, scoring 356 points across four seasons in the top flight. He represented Israel at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, the 1953 European Championship in Moscow, and the 1954 World Championship in Rio de Janeiro.

After retiring as a player in 1959, he transitioned into coaching, having already led Hapoel Ma'ayan Baruch, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Ashdot Yaakov, and Hapoel Haifa. He coached Hapoel Tel Aviv with intermittent breaks from 1960 to 1969, winning four championships and two State Cups before being succeeded by Barry Leibowitz. In 1965, he took over the national team from Yehoshua Rozin, leading the squad to four European Championships, a sixth-place finish in 1965, and medals at the Asian Games—gold in 1966 and silver in 1970.

Shelah remained active in coaching until 1994, after which he served as the basketball coordinator for the Israel Sports Association for the Disabled. His coaching career included stints with Hapoel Gevat, Hapoel Givat Brenner, and Elitzur Tel Aviv, with his final top-league season coming in 1977/78.