Maccabi “Elite” Tel Aviv (Hebrew: מכבי ”עלית“ תל אביב) is a professional basketball team based in Tel Aviv, playing in the Israeli and European basketball competitions. It is the basketball division of the Maccabi Tel Aviv sports club. The team has been sponsored by Elite (now part of the Strauss Group) since 1969, which is the source of the word "Elite" in its name. It was recently announced that Elite will no longer continue to sponsor the team after the 2008 season and as of yet, no replacement sponsor has been found.
The club dominates Israeli basketball, having won 47 national championship titles (including 23 in a row between 1970 and 1992) and 36 state cups. Maccabi is among Europe's most illustrious clubs, having won the European cup five times since 1977, and finishing second a further seven times.
