Israel Coach Ariel Beit Halachmi aims to reinvigorate the national team ahead of tonight’s contest vs Croatia. (photo credit: Oded Carni/Israel Basketball Association)Germany tightened its defense after a close first quarter, holding Israel to 9 points in the second quarter and pulling away for an 89,69 win in the qualifier.
The Israel National Team fell to Germany 89-69 in the opening game of the World Cup qualifiers in Ulm. The European and World Champion Germans tightened up their defense after a close first quarter and held the blue-and-white to just 9 points in the second quarter, taking a 19-point (50-31) lead into halftime.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn the third quarter, Germany opened up a gap of almost 30 points as Israel tried to cut it down to a respectable final score by the end of the game. The Germans completely dominated the boards, out-rebounding Israel 42-34, while the hosts scored 24 second-chance points compared to only five by Israel.
On Monday, Israel will host Croatia in Riga after the Croatians had no trouble against Cyprus, winning 100-60 in their qualifier over the weekend.
Israel opened the game up with points in the paint from Roman Sorkin, but the Germans responded with a three-pointer from David Kramer as well as points in the paint to give the hosts a 13–7 lead after five minutes. Israel came back with triples by Khadeen Carrington and Bar Timor, while Gur Lavi also went from long distance, but Germany’s offensive rebounding gave them a 26–22 lead after 10 minutes of play.
Germany’s offensive rebounding continued to produce points and widened the gap to 50–31 with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the first half.
MAKING HIS first national team appearance since 2022, Tamir Blatt reenters the fold at a pivotal moment as Israel begins its push toward the 2027 World Cup. (credit: YEHUDA HALICKMAN)At the start of the third quarter, the lead grew to 59–31, but Timor, Lavi, and Roi Huber trimmed the advantage down to 69–53 after 30 minutes. However, the Germans pushed the lead back up to 20 points as they secured the win.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSorkin scored 18 points, Carrington added 17 points and Timor scored 10 points in the loss as Oscar da Silva led Germany with 19 points, Kramer put in 13 points and Joshua Obiese scored 11 points in the win.
Israel coach Ariel Beit Halachmi summed up the game.
'One of the toughest games in our group': Ariel Beit Halachmi
“This is one of the toughest games in our group, especially here on the road. We encountered a different level of physicality and intensity, and that’s where we fell short. In the end, I think we were also less effective on offense; we need to learn from this.”
Beit Halachmi didn’t want his players to be too discouraged with the result.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“It’s the first game, and I’m sure in the second one we’ll look different. We’ll also have more practices together as a national team. We committed 19 turnovers and allowed them far too many offensive rebounds. On Monday, we’ll need to start everything from scratch, as it’s a game we can win. We had some good minutes in the third quarter, but we fell apart in the second period.”
Lavi added, “They were much more aggressive and intense, and they’re the world and European champions. As a team, we only got together a short time ago, and we have to work very hard ahead of the next game against Croatia. At the same time, these aren’t excuses; it’s something everyone has to deal with.”
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