TEL AVIV (Israel) - Back in 1989 and 1991, Israel missed consecutive FIBA EuroBasket tournaments, but they've been ever-present since, reaching their 15th straight edition.
It's their 31st FIBA EuroBasket Final Round appearance altogether, but a major success is long awaited. Their only spot on the podium came with second place in 1979 and not only did Israel not claim a medal since, but are also waiting for the Semi-Finals for 46 years.
They have failed to reach the Round of 16 stage in the last two events, but with a new look team led by Deni Avdija who is joined by a reliable and well-balanced supporting cast, Israel is sure to aim higher this time.
Schedule
August 28: vs Iceland (14:00 CET) August 30: vs Poland(20:30 CET) August 31: vs France (17:00 CET) September 2: vs Belgium (14:00 CET) September 4: vs Slovenia (17:00 CET)
Star Player
Deni Avdija is set to appear at EuroBasket for the second time in his career, making debut in 2022 as a young starlet that just finished his first two NBA seasons. Then, Avdija showed himself on the big stage with 14.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, but Israel failed to make Round of 16.
Nowadays Avdija is much a more experienced and nuanced player, even though he's still only 24. With his polished offensive game and a career-best NBA season under the belt, the Portland Trail Blazers power forward is someone Ariel Beit-Halahmy's squad will look up to for leadership.
Israel has a well-balanced squad with a number of players who have proven themselves on the European scene, but Avdija brings something extra to the table. Last time we saw him suit up for Israel he averaged 10.5 points per game in two games in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers and we can expect a much better showing from Avdija and Israel this time.
History
This is the second time that Israel put together a string of 15 FIBA EuroBasket appearances in a row, the first time happening between 1959 and 1987. They also achieved their biggest success in that era, finishing as runners-up at the FIBA EuroBasket 1979, losing the title game to the Soviet Union.
A lot of time passed since those days of Miki Berkovich's heroic performances, and in the modern era of the strongest European tournament, they only have a single Quarter-Finals appearance, back in 2003 when Spain pushed them towards a seventh-place finish.
Runners-up: 1979
EuroBasket Top Scorers
Rank | Player | Games | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1. | Miki Berkowitz | 49 | 917 |
2. | Jamchy Doron | 31 | 659 |
3. | Boaz Yanay | 41 | 472 |
4. | Tanhum Cohen-Mintz | 35 | 467 |
5. | Lior Eliyahu | 29 | 386 |
6. | Louis Grant Silver | 23 | 335 |
7. | Talbut Brody | 21 | 314 |
8. | Barry Leibowitz | 37 | 292 |
9. | Yotam Halperin | 31 | 281 |
10. | Yaniv Green | 38 | 275 |
How they qualified
Gameday 1: POR 70-72 ISR Gameday 2: SLO 88-79 ISR Gameday 3: UKR 73-86 ISR Gameday 4: ISR 88-75 UKR Gameday 5: ISR 84-78 POR Gameday 6: ISR 84-74 SLO
Poll: Where will they finish?
Tickets
FIBA