BREAKING NEWS

Israel pounds Estonia in basketball to keep dreams alive

Israel remained in the hunt for a place in EuroBasket 2013 on Sunday night with an 84-53 thrashing of Estonia in Tallinn.
Estonia seriously complicated Israel’s situation in Group A when it stunned the blue-and-white on the road two weeks ago, but there would be no repeat of that humbling defeat on Sunday, with the national team pulling ahead in the second quarter and sailing to a comfortable win in the second half.
Israel, which improved to a 4-3 record and leapfrogged Estonia into third place, hosts Iceland on Wednesday and Slovakia on Saturday in two games it will be a firm favorite to win before ending its qualifying campaign at Serbia next Tuesday.
Three wins in its remaining qualifiers will secure Israel a place in the European Championships for an 11th straight time as one of the group’s top two teams.