The Israel National Basketball Team came up short against Latvia 85-70 in the second round of World Cup Qualifiers on Sunday night.
The blue-and-white ended the August window with two losses, having fallen to Poland 106-86 last week in the first game, and have been officially eliminated from World Cup qualifying.
On Sunday, Israel built up a double-digit lead in the second quarter; however, Latvia quickly fought back and tied the game at 41-41 by halftime.
The hosts’ momentum continued in the second half, as Latvia maintained its excellent 3-point shooting while Israel struggled offensively in the second half, scoring just 29 points and ultimately succumbing to defeat.
Yam Madar scored 15 points, Netanel Artzi added 11, while Itay Segev and Roman Sorkin each scored 9 points for Israel in the loss.
Coach Ariel Beit Halachmi spoke about the defeat
“We started the game well, but toward the end of the second quarter we lost the momentum. In the second half, we got into foul trouble, and that changed the momentum of the game. They shot a high percentage from 3-point range and took advantage of the mistakes we made. That changed the momentum of the game, and we got into foul trouble," said Coach Ariel Beit Halachmi.
“I think we don’t have the luxury of showing up for international windows without our leading players. We were missing quite a few players, and that had an impact. Different players have been available for each window, and it’s difficult to implement a style of play. Israeli basketball doesn’t have the option of throwing away games; we need everyone with us. Other national teams have been playing with the same roster for a long period of time, but unfortunately, that’s not the case for us. This is also the place to thank the Latvian Basketball Association, which has been hosting us here for some time and helping us with everything possible.”
Israeli big man Sorkin also spoke about the loss.
“I can say that from the players’ side, which I’m part of, we have to look better. We can’t look like this. We need to play better. I’m speaking about myself right now and not criticizing anyone else. I have no excuses; the only thing I know is that we have to play better and show up differently for games.”
Earlier in the weekend, Israel lost by 20 to Poland in the opening game of the second round of qualifiers in Riga.
Poland opens game in dominant fashion
Poland opened the game in dominant fashion, with Mateusz Ponitka, Jordan Loyd and Aleksander Balcerowski putting on excellent performances and taking their team into the second quarter with an eight-point lead. The gap continued to grow in the second quarter as Jordan Loyd came into his own, as ABeit Halachmi’s team went into halftime trailing 55-42.
The trend continued in the third quarter as Sorkin, Madar and Tamir Blatt were outdone by the likes of Andrzej Pluta and Jarosław Zyskowski, who shot extremely well and extended the lead. Despite an excellent final quarter from Israel, which at one point looked as though it might bring it back into the game, the large deficit ultimately remained, and Poland closed out a resounding victory.
On Sunday, Lior Carrera and Artzi gave Israel an early lead, but Latvia responded with points in the paint and an Arturs Strautins triple bumped up the advantage. However, a couple of fine plays by Eitan Burg gave Israel a 22-21 lead at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter began with 3-pointers from Guy Palatin and Burg, prompting a Latvian timeout. Israel then stalled offensively, allowing the hosts to cut the gap to 28-27, but from there Israel went on a 12-2 run to take its biggest lead of the game, 40-29.
Latvia came out of the timeout with a 12-1 run of their own to draw even at halftime, 41-41.
Artzi opened the third quarter with five straight points, but Latvia answered with an 8-2 run to take a 49-48 lead. Strautins continued to score, extending Latvia’s advantage to 58-52 and prompting a timeout from Beit Halachmi, while Strautins stayed hot to give Latvia a 67-58 lead.
The final quarter began with a trio of triples from the hosts, who extended their lead to 76-62 with seven minutes remaining. Israel continued to struggle offensively, while Latvia closed out the victory.
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