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. After a solid tournament performance, Israel was eliminated in the quarterfinals on Thursday following an 87-95 loss to Slovenia. However, the team's journey is not over as they still have a chance to qualify for the 2026 U19 World Championship in the Czech Republic by securing a top-five finish.

The upcoming playoff game against Greece is part of the classification rounds for 5th to 8th places. According to FIBA's qualification system, the top five teams from the European Championship earn spots in the World Championship. Four semifinalists, Slovenia, Spain, France, and Italy, have already qualified, leaving Israel to compete for the fifth and final berth.

If Israel defeats Greece in the semifinal of the placement bracket, they will advance to the final for fifth place against the winner of the Germany-Turkey matchup. The winner of that final secures qualification for the World Championship. Earlier in the tournament, Israel defeated Greece 93-84 in overtime during the group stage, powered by 30 points from Aviv Aronov and an impressive 26 points and 19 rebounds from David Moses.