Nat’l team survives dismal 4th to beat Italy in final game

Wins against Latvia and Italy ensured that Israel ended the European Championships on a positive note.

By ALLON SINAI
Lior Eliyahu 311 (photo credit: Adi Avishai)
Lior Eliyahu 311
(photo credit: Adi Avishai)
Despite failing to score a single field goal in the fourth quarter, Israel ended its EuroBasket campaign with a win on Monday afternoon, defeating Italy 96-95 in overtime in Siauliai, Lithuania to finish in fourth position in Group B with a 2-3 record.
The national team lost any hope of claiming a top-three finish and a place in the last 12 after falling in its first three games in Lithuania to Germany, France and Serbia.
However, wins against Latvia and Italy ensured that Israel ended the European Championships on a positive note after losing its first three games by an average 17.7 points.
Israel took a 79-60 lead into the fourth period on Monday, but it was outscored 24-5 in the final 10 minutes, with all five of its points coming from the line over the final 16 seconds.
An Andrea Bargnani three-pointer with 1.4 seconds to play tied the score at 84-84 and sent the game into overtime, but the Toronto Raptors forward also ended up costing Italy the game.
After the Italians missed a couple of chances under the basket, Bargnani inexplicably fouled Yaniv Green with less than a second remaining, and the Israel center clinched the win with his second free throw.
“It was a strange game,” Israel coach Arik Shivek said. “I ran out of players during the game and we made some bad decisions. Nevertheless, I’m pleased that we showed a lot of character. We were heartbroken at the start of overtime, but we managed to win the game. We set ourselves a goal to win these two games in the tournament and hopefully steal a victory against Germany, France or Serbia. But we failed to do that.”
Guy Pnini scored 22 points for Israel, with David Blu adding 17 points and Lior Eliyahu contributing 16 points and seven rebounds.
Bargnani had 26 points and 11 rebounds, with Denver Nuggets scorer Danilo Gallinari netting 19 points.
“Those were the longest minutes in my life,” said Green, who had to wait for five minutes before attempting the crucial free throw that won the game after the scoreboard in the arena in Siauliai failed. “It is good to end the tournament like this and beat a team like Italy. I’m always happy to come and help the team, but there are a few things I would like to see change if I’m to play in Israel’s next campaign,” added the 31-year-old Green, hinting towards international retirement.
“The first game against Germany killed us, but we picked ourselves up and won two important games that brought pride to the team and to the state of Israel.”


Related Tags
Latvia