When talking about the EuroCup, one veteran club that we see year after year is Israeli side Iscar Nahariya.

Not long ago, in 2004 and 2005, Nahariya battled for a place in the final four of this top FIBA Europe competition, exiting at the quarter-final stage with 2-1 series defeats to Ural Great and BC Kyiv, respectively.

But in the past two years, things changed.

The team from northern Israel claimed just three wins in the group stages and finished their European campaign earlier than expected each of the last two seasons.

Then a 100-99 defeat in the last seconds to Galil Elyon in the penultimate round of the Israeli Basketball Super League kept Nahariya out of the domestic final four.

The consequence was a big change in the summer.

Legendary Miki Berkovic stepped down as general manager and no one replaced him.

Instead, the club put all its trust in the hands of coach Arriel Beit-HaLakhmi, who had not only coached but also made decisions with Berkovic on the players the club would sign.

He is now starting his second season with the club.

Five impact players left the team in the summer, including Raviv Limonad.

One of the best guards in his age group, Limonad left after a breakthrough season for the French powerhouse Le Mans. 

Back-up guard Amit Ben David decided to leave in search of more minutes after four seasons coming off the Nahariya bench so he departed for Gilboa/Afula of the Israeli league.

Croatian forward Vedran Vukusic returned to his homeland with Cibona Zagreb.

Juan Mendez stayed in Israel but moved south to Rishon LeZion while Jeff Greer went back to the French league, where he had played before arriving in Nahariya.

Nahariya did their best to replace those who left with equal, if not better, players.

Coach Beit-HaLakhmi brought a talented group together, with three of his signings having played in Nahariya in recent years.

Otis Hill played for Nahariya two years ago, when he averaged 17 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in the Israeli league.

In between, the wide and undersized center played briefly for KK Split before moving to Polish powerhouse Anwil Wloclawek where he put up good numbers.

Adrian Pledger was part of the Nahariya team that made the grade in the EuroCup several years ago during his four-year stint with the team.

In the last two years, he travelled to other clubs in Israel and Bulgaria but now he's back "home".

Pledger doesn't have the most beautiful shot in the game, but he can put points on the board easily, and has a good all-round game.

The last "lost son" is the local Avi Sukar, who exchanged places with Ben David.

The up-tempo Sukar, a guard who played in Nahariya two years ago as well, spent parts of last season with BC Kyiv and CSKA Sofia before coming back to Israel and finishing the season with Gilboa/Afula.

He was the runner-up in the assists ranking and third in the steals category while playing for Gilboa/Afula, where Ben David will take his spot this season.

Another big move was the signing of Matan Naor, who played a big role in Israel's last EuroBasket campaign.

Naor, who spent the previous two years at Hapoel Jerusalem and suffered from a tough shoulder injury that kept him out for most of the last season, developed into a fine long-range shooter and, as always, will contribute a lot on the defensive end.

In the 2003-04 campaign, he played on the Hapoel Tel Aviv side that reached the FIBA Europe League final four.

The third new foreigner, forward Ashante Johnson, is known to all EuroCup fans from his time at NymburNymburkk where he played for three seasons and averaged 19 points per game in the competition.

He adds a lot of athletic ability, is very active and perhaps most importantly at 31 years of age, has a lot of experience.

In the EuroCup, Nahariya will be able to use only two of their three US players - Johnson, Hill and Pledger - and that might cause a few sleepless nights for Beit HaLakhmi.

Coming back for a second straight season are Serbian guard Sasa Ocokoljic, the massive Israeli big man and national team star Ido Kozikaro, back up center Uri Kukia and the evergreen Barak Peleg.

So far, it's been all good news for Nahariya, who sit on top of the Israeli league standings with a 3-1 record.

How good is this team?

Their lone defeat was a 90-87 home loss to Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv on opening night in a game Nahariya would have won with a little bit more courage.

Since then, they have claimed three wins in a row, the last an eight-point overtime win over Galil Elyon.

Everyone in Israel knows Nahariya match up against any team in the country and fight to the end.

Europe will have a chance to get a glimpse of this same team as it goes for glory in the EuroCup.