National team's hopes of reaching EuroBasket 2009 dealt a severe blow with 91-70 defeat.
By ALLON SINAIHalperin 298.88(photo credit: AP)
Israel's hopes of reaching EuroBasket 2009 suffered a significant blow on Wednesday night after it was humiliated 91-70 by the Czech Republic in Pardubice.
The national team visits Great Britain in its next qualifier on Saturday and will likely need to win in Liverpool, as well as pull off victories in its final two home games against Bosnia and the Czechs, if it hopes to progress to a ninth straight European Championships.
Israeli coach Tzvika Sherf had hoped that his team would record the all-important road win on Wednesday against the weakest team in Group D, but the Czechs dominated the entire encounter and handed the national team an embarrassing defeat.
"We were poor in every facet of the game," Israel assistant coach Yoram Harush said.
"We failed in every target we set ourselves. You can't play in such a way in a key qualifier. We wanted to claim the victory, but the best team won.
"We still have a chance to advance from top spot and we've come back from tougher situations. We must recover and win in England."
Guy Pnini was by far Israel's best player of the game, leading the team with 22 points.
Yotam Halperin and Omri Casspi added 13 and 12 points respectively.
Jiri Welsch was, as expected, outstanding for the hosts, scoring 20 points, dishing out eight assists and hauling down five tough boards.
Petr Benda added 20 points for the victors, hitting nine of 13 shots in 22 minutes on the court.
Pnini scored the first basket of the night to give the visitors an early lead, but it would take nearly four more minutes for Israel to add to its tally.
The Czech's suffocating defense frustrated the national team and the hosts soon seized control of the encounter.
Benda scored at will and his tenth point of the game with just over a minute to play in the first quarter gave the Czechs a 16-10 lead.
The hosts 18-12 advantage after 10 minutes would mushroom in the early part of the second period, with Ondrej Starosta's basket giving the side its first double-digit lead of the game (22-12).
Welsch orchestrated the Czechs play superbly but, fortunately for Israel, Pnini had a hot hand on Wednesday and his three-pointer brought the visitors within six points (36-28) at the break.
Any hope Sherf may have had that his team would continue to close the margin was ended, however, by the host's 5-0 run to start the second half.
Benda's basket opened a 41-28 lead and two more points by the dangerous forward increased the margin to an unassailable 16 points (46-30).
The Czechs weren't content with the 63-47 advantage they took into the final 10 minutes, and Starosta's jumper gave the team a highmark 22-point margin (74-52) three minutes into the fourth quarter.
Israel was completely helpless against a supposedly inferior Czech team and Ladislav's Sokolovsky's three at the buzzer added insult to injury and capped a humbling night for the national team.
Also Wednesday, Israel's women's team squandered a late lead and missed an opportunity to clinch its place in EuroBasket 2009.
The national team lost 90-85 in an overtime heart-breaker on the road in the Ukraine and will need to defeat Great Britain at home on Saturday to book its place in next summer's European Championships.
Liad Suaz Karni scored 20 points for the Israeli women, with Liron Cohen and Shay Doron adding 19 and 17 points respectively.
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