The big Brazilian was a force in the paint – and on the perimeter – from the day he joined Hapoel
Tribute to the Champs: Bruno Caboclo
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Training camp was already underway when Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv announced that it had signed Bruno Caboclo and it was nothing short of a "wow" moment. While Caboclo would not be the final piece to the championship puzzle, it was absolutely a building block.
The Brazilian big was a formidable asset for Hapoel, whether taking on starring or supporting roles. As the backup to Johnathan Motley, he made sure Hapoel had 40 minutes of strong center play every night. When he played alongside Motley, Hapoel had a long and versatile frontline that few could handle. And when Motley missed games, stepped up to hold down the fort.
Caboclo was Hapoel’s most productive player on opening night with 14 points and a PIR of 18 at Joventut Badalona. In the first game that Motley missed, Caboclo posted a double-double against Bahcesehir College Istanbul. His best game of the season came in Round 14 when the big man posted 19 points and 9 boards in an 89-68 blowout of Dolomiti Energia Trento.
Come the postseason, Caboclo left his mark with strong efforts in limited minutes. He missed only one postseason game – and that was the lone game Hapoel lost. Caboclo posted 5 points and 6 rebounds in the quarterfinals victory over Turk Telekom Ankara. He played the entirety of the fourth quarter in the decisive Game 3 of the semifinals against Valencia Basket. Caboclo helped turn the tide in Game 1 of the finals against Dreamland Gran Canaria with 5 second-quarter points and would total 15 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks in the two-game sweep.
Over 23 EuroCup games this season, Caboclo averaged 7.4 points by making 59.0% of his two-pointers and 39.0% of his threes. He added 3.7 blocks, 0.7 steals and 0.7 blocks in 17:19 minutes per game. Hapoel could not have turned in such a spectacular season without him.