Hapoel coach on Munford's cannabis doping case: 'What do you do in a foreign country?' / News - Basketnews.com

Franco said Munford's suspension was a painful blow to the team but admitted the majority of foreigners in the league smoke, including a significant number of Israelis, and the public shouldn't be shocked about it.

Credit: Lukas Balandis/BNS; Marcus Brandt/dpa - Scanpix Credit Lukas Balandis/BNS; Marcus Brandt/dpa - Scanpix

Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv's guard Xavier Munford was suspended for a doping violation last week. The team's head coach offered his comment about it for the first time since the news broke out.

3-pointers this season

40%8,7Points made:8,7Accuracy:39,7%Place in standings:12Record max:14Record min:4Most made 3FGs:Xavier MunfordTeamEuroCupStatisticsSchedule

Munford was suspended by the Israeli Anti-Doping Agency for testing positive for cannabis, which is among the prohibited substances. The result was from a routine doping test taken in December. It is estimated that Munford will not compete in the EuroCup this season again.

Following an Israeli Winner League victory against Hapoel Holon on Saturday, the Tel Aviv team's head coach, Danny Franco, issued a colorful answer on the entire situation involving Munford.

"Xavier Manford's test was a painful bomb to the face for all of us. It is also surprising because he had already done quite a few tests and had always come out well. I'm not judging anyone, there are rules and you have to respect them, but this is a different season," Franco said.

"The test is not from now, it's from December. This was a very difficult time for everyone. A time when the foreigners stayed in Belgrade and had to spend four-five days there while the Israelis were here," the coach told the media. "And they were alone. What do you do there for four or five days in a foreign country? I don't know."

Munford was one of the leaders of the Israeli squad, averaging 15.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.4 steals per game for 15.8 PIR. He was named Round 8 MVP after scoring 31 points against Joventut Badalona.

Throughout recent years, there has been a fight, especially in the USA, to abolish marijuana and cannabis from the banned substances list due to its researched positive effects on people in certain cases.

"You can adjust the threshold as much as you want. If you think that most of the foreigners in the league don't smoke and some of the Israelis don't either, you are wrong. The fact that he exaggerated and exceeded it is not okay. It's not at the level of the smoker or non-smoker, it's not okay at the level of us as a group and in what we build here. We expect responsibility," Franco continued.

"From our point of view, this is a blow for a very significant and beloved player. This makes it difficult for us to continue to meet the goals we want to reach this year. You can bring in good players, but there is something more in him. I have nothing to say except that we will have to find a way to continue to be as good a team as we were without our main scorer," the coach concluded.

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