CLEVELAND, Ohio — Yehu Orland walked into Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and roamed the sidelines with his usual Maccabi Ra’anana inscribed polo shirt. Only this one had a special customized message written in black capital letters on the left side, below the team’s logo.

R.I.P ELI FOREVER IN MY HEART.

Monday night was the second stop on a three-game exhibition tour through the United States — a draining two-week trip that concludes against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.

The three matchups were supposed to be fun — a showcase for Maccabi Ra’anana of the Israeli National League. It was a chance to compete against the best players in the world and show the beautiful game to a different audience. It was a chance to prepare — mentally and physically — for the upcoming season. For many on the roster, it was the first time stepping onto an NBA court — a thrilling moment in their professional careers.

That all changed on Oct. 7. Now it’s about sending a message.

Of hope. Of strength. Of support. Of solidarity. Of love.

Orland and his team touched down in the United States on Oct. 4. Three days later, Hamas launched its terror attack on Israel. More than a thousand Israelis have died, while numerous more have been taken hostage by Hamas inside Gaza. Orland’s best friend, Lt. Col. Eli Ginsburg, lost his life fighting in Israel’s war with Hamas.

“Our bodies are in the United States but our mind and our heart is in Israel,” Orland said prior to his team’s 120-89 loss against the Cavs. “It’s hard. Our families are back home, and Hamas killed a lot of people, so everybody knows someone that got killed. Families. Children. Young people. It’s really hard. But we are here. This is our profession. We chose it. If you are still alive, you need to keep doing your thing and we are here. Seeing us play can maybe show the world and show everybody that we are still a strong country.”

The most-asked question over the last week has been straightforward: Why continue the exhibition tour? Why not end it early and go home? The team met as a group. They talked through every possibility. Players were given an option. Aside from one member of the team who said his goodbyes, grabbed his bags and boarded a flight home, there was an agreement that continuing the trip was the best decision.

“There are no soldiers on the team. I’m not a soldier,” Orland said. “We decided if we can’t help fight it’s going to be better to stay in the States and give hope for those babies, those children, those families, those young people that right now are living the situation in Israel and can get something out of seeing us play.

“Hope is the word I use a lot because the desperation in Israel is deep. Everybody is worried. Besides sadness, everybody is worried. You can feel it all over Israel and I hear from my family and friends the desperation. So, if I could send a message, I would tell them it’s going to be OK eventually. But it’s going to take time. If you see us playing, just know Israel is alive, Israel is a strong country.”

Inside the arena, Maccabi Ra’anana players donned the country’s familiar blue and white colors. There were Israeli flags draped across various sections throughout the arena. Extra security at the ready — just in case. Following a moment of silence condemning the terrorist attacks, Cantor Alyssa Rosenbaum of B’nai Jeshurun Congregation in Pepper Pike delivered a moving rendition of the national anthem. Then it was time for tipoff.

For Orland and so many others, it was a two-plus hour escape, with Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse serving as a sanctuary after an indescribable week.

“When it happened, I wanted to come back straight away but they told us it was better now to stay here, play the games, to let the people in Israel see something,” said guard Ori Hai, who is from Jerusalem and has been in constant contact with his family back home. “The situation is hard. Everyone knows someone who passed away, got killed or kidnapped. Like, there’s a lot of unknown. When we are talking to our families, you can see it on their faces. You don’t even need to say something. You can see on their faces the frustration, the hard times, but we are strong and we will get better.”

Guard Alex Leder, 26, was born in Washington, D.C., and played his college ball at Gettysburg. He has dual citizenship, spending the last four seasons in Israel. This will be his second season with Maccabi Ra’anana. Currently sidelined because of an ankle injury that kept him from playing Monday night and has had him rehabbing and working out in the United States the last four months, Leder’s mind is on just one thing — getting back and trying to help the country heal.

“It’s really tragic. My heart goes out to everyone I know over there and care about. From the bottom of my heart, I want to reach out to Israel and everyone I love in Israel. Just send all my love and my prayers. Israel has been great to me these past four years. I live my life there. I love it there,” Leder said. “I pray for their families and for everyone in the situation to find peace. I just want the world to be in a good place. This game is important to show that the whole team has a lot of love for Israel and is supporting.”

Leder and his Israeli teammates will head back on Wednesday. For him, it will be the first time there in about four months. He has no idea what to expect.

“I’m a little bit nervous and anxious,” Leder admitted. “I just have a lot of love for the city. The city supports us. I will be able to see a lot of people – the families that come to our games and the hotel near us actually has refugees from the south right now and I’m going to spend some time there. I talked to some people on my team and we are going to do a lot of stuff around the city to really make the community feel loved.”

For more than two hours on Monday night, Orland was able to just be a coach again. He could focus on plays, offensive sets, substitutions, timeouts, in-game strategy and X’s and O’s — everything about the game he loves, which has been central to his life for years. When the final buzzer sounded, the crowd stood up and saluted both teams. Then Orland exchanged pleasantries before walking off the court. That’s when his mind immediately turned away from basketball.

The brief intermission was over. Reality struck again.

“It’s hard for me to get excited for it — although I respect so many players on the other teams,” Orland said. “I respect the name Cavaliers over here. But for me personally, to get excitement out of it, it’s really hard now. My thought is to be the best coach I can be in this game and when we are practicing — to get our system and put it in together — but after the game, I’m not there in my mindset.”

His mind goes to his loved ones and the loss of his best friend. Ginsburg, who Orland called a “hero,” served in the army for 23 years before retiring a month ago. When the war began last weekend, he didn’t hesitate. He immediately reenlisted and started packing his bags, not knowing when — or if — he would return home. Ginsburg’s funeral was Thursday, a few hours before Maccabi Ra’anana played in Brooklyn.

“I need to hug his wife and four kids,” Orland said. “I know it’s going to be hard, but I have to go back, I have to go back. My wife and kids are in Israel and I’m waiting to see them, to hug them and to show them that Daddy is back home — and you are safe.”

Players and coaches have been following the disturbing news. They’ve seen the incomprehensible videos. They’ve been checking in on friends and family back home.

It’s been two weeks since leaving for America. It’s almost time to end this tour and go home. But no one can even begin to comprehend the devastation that awaits.

“It will look different. Everything will look different,” Hai said. “We’re used to the rockets, the alarms, but this kind of stuff that happened a few days ago, it’s something else.”