Israel U19 Basketball Faces Greece for Crucial World Championship Qualification Spot

Israel's under-19 national basketball team continues its campaign at the European Championship with a critical placement match against Greece on Saturday at 14:00, broadcast live on 5SPORT. Despite being eliminated in the quarterfinals after a 95-87 loss to Slovenia, Israel still has a vital goal: securing a spot in the 2026 U19 World Championship in the Czech Republic next summer.

The upcoming playoff game is part of the 5th-8th place classification, which holds significant importance because only the top five teams from the European Championship qualify for the World Championship. The four semifinalists, Slovenia, Spain, France, and Italy, have already secured their places, leaving Israel to compete for the fifth and final qualifying spot.

Israel will face Greece in the semifinal of this placement bracket; a victory will advance them to the final for fifth place against the winner of Germany versus Turkey. The winner of the fifth-place game will earn the last European berth to the World Championship. Earlier in the tournament, Israel defeated Greece 93-84 in overtime during the group stage, led by Aviv Aronov's 30 points and David Moses's 26 points and 19 rebounds. Coach Nadav Zilberstein's team aims to replicate that success to keep their World Championship hopes alive.