Israel Women's Basketball Team Faces Tough Turkey in EuroBasket Qualifiers

The Israeli women's national basketball team is preparing to host Turkey on Saturday, November 26th, at 19:40 (live on 5PLUS) in Riga, Latvia, as part of the EuroBasket qualifiers. This crucial match follows a disappointing loss to Poland, where Israel showed promise for three quarters before collapsing in the final period.

The team has been undergoing tactical preparations over the past two days to face one of Europe's strongest women's basketball nations. Turkey, a powerhouse in the sport, began the second group stage with a decisive 79-62 victory over Montenegro, led by Elif Bayram's 18 points and 10 rebounds. Despite a strong showing at the previous summer's World Championship, Turkey suffered three losses, and they finished seventh in the last EuroBasket tournament. The last encounter between Israel and Turkey was in 2016, with Israel securing a narrow 63-62 win.

Player Shir Tirosh expressed the team's focus on learning from their previous game to better prepare for Turkey. "We need to close out games better, be more fluid in our play, and handle the pressure against us," Tirosh stated. "Overall, we did a good job against Poland and met our goals. It was a frustrating and disappointing loss, but I think we were closer than we thought; we need to learn how to close out games."

Following the game against Turkey, the Israeli team will embark on a half-day journey on Sunday morning, traveling through Denmark and Hungary to reach Montenegro. They are scheduled to play their final game of this window against the Montenegrin national team on Tuesday.