Israel's U18 Basketball Team Beats Turkey to Finish Seventh at European Championship

Israel's under-18 basketball team secured seventh place at the European Championship on Sunday by defeating Turkey 85-79 in the classification games. This victory came a day after a heavy loss to Greece, which prevented Israel from competing for fifth place and a spot in the World Championship. Israel started strong, leading 20-14 after the first quarter, boosted by three-pointers from David Mossis and Lior Hershko and a four-point streak from Rom Stoller. However, Turkey capitalized on Israeli turnovers and defensive errors in the second quarter, going on a 9-0 run to take a 40-35 halftime lead.

Omri Orland kept Israel close with six consecutive points, and in the third quarter, he and Mossis tied the game at 44-44. Turkey responded with an 11-2 run to regain control and led 65-56 by the end of the quarter. The final quarter belonged to Israel, coached by Nadav Zilberstein, as Stoller and Mossis opened with a 5-0 run. Hershko's three-pointer narrowed the gap, and Mossis tied the score at 68-68. Orland then completed the comeback with a three-pointer, and together with Mossis, scored 17 of Israel's last 19 points, leading to a 29-14 final quarter and the win.

David Mossis led the team with 26 points and nine rebounds, while Omri Orland, who replaced the ill Aviv Aronov, contributed 20 points and ten assists. Rom Stoller added 17 points, and Lior Hershko scored 13 points with eight rebounds. Aronov did not play. Other contributors included Amitai Azriel (4 points), Oren Trushkin (3 points, six rebounds, two blocks), Arbel Lachmanovich, and Noam Ekstein (each scored 2 points).