With the 83-54 victory on Sunday night, Israel punched its ticket to the second stage of qualifying and is now 2-2 and in third place in Group E.
Israel defeated Cyprus 83-54 on Sunday night, sweeping the pair of World Cup qualifiers in Limassol.
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After having won the first game against Cyprus 94-54 on Friday night, Ariel Beit Halachmi’s squad jumped out to a quick lead thanks to Adam Ariel, Roman Sorkin, and Idan Zalmanson, while Simon Michail countered for Cyprus. Israeli took a 45-29 advantage into halftime, while Netanel Artzi, Tamir Blatt, and Zalamson continued to fill the basket over the course of the second half to close out the 29-point win.
With the victory, Israel punched its ticket to the second stage of qualifying and is now 2-2 and in third place in Group E play. Croatia sits atop the standings with a 4-0 record, while Germany is in second with a 2-2 record, ahead of the Israelis because it beat them in the first window of play.
On Sunday, Ariel, Zalmanson, and Sorkin all scored 13 points in the win, while Filippos Tigkas scored 15 points, and Michail added 13 points in the loss.
Reflections after the game
Beit Halachmi reflected on the game.
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“It’s very hard to play two games against the same team in a short time like this, and you could see that in this game. We didn’t play our best, but we came away with a pair of wins, and that is what is most important.”
Israel’s Joaquin Szuchman also spoke about the match.
“It was a great experience to come back to the national team after a few years, and there was a great atmosphere here. The guys played and practiced well, and I am very happy to take the two wins. I want to thank everyone for their warm wishes over the past few days, and we want to really send our prayers and support to the IDF and the entire nation of Israel during this time.”
Ariel talked about the situation back in Israel and the pair of victories.
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“We had mixed feelings; we knew we had to finish the job here, and we got so many messages from people back home as to how important this game was going to be for them, so we wanted to represent the country with pride as the Israeli national team. We are thinking of everyone back at home, and we are here with our families and children. We are happy we were able to do what we needed to. We knew we had to come out of this window with two wins, and we enjoyed doing just that.”
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Published Date : 2026-03-03 03:11:00
Source : sports.yahoo.com
