Israel Basketball Coach Announces World Cup Qualifiers Roster Without NBA Stars

Israel's national basketball team coach Ariel Beit Halachmi revealed the squad for the upcoming FIBA World Cup qualifiers following two tough losses to Germany and Croatia. The team will prepare for matches against Poland and Latvia in about ten days, including a warm-up game against Georgia. Notably absent from the roster are NBA players Deni Avdija and Ben Sharf, who were not released by their clubs. However, the team welcomes back Tamir Blatt, recently signed by Hapoel Tel Aviv, who will play alongside teammate Yam Madar, with whom he swapped clubs. The roster also includes returning big men Roman Sorkin, Itay Segev, and Idan Zalmanson. Captain Tomer Ginat remains doubtful due to injury, along with Nimrod Levi, Joaquin Schukman, Gur Lavi, and Yuval Zosman, who have yet to fully recover and are currently unavailable. The full squad consists of Yam Madar, Tamir Blatt, Kadin Carrington, Eitan Burg, Yair Kravitz, Guy Peltin, Adam Ariel, Rafi Menco, Netanel Artzi, Lior Karera, Roman Sorkin, Yotam Hanochi, Eli Dolinsky, Idan Zalmanson, and Itay Segev.