The Israel Men’s National Basketball Team opens up the 2025 EuroBasket in Poland in roughly two weeks, and while its record in warmup games sits at a lofty 3-1, there is plenty of work to do and many questions that still need to be answered.
After wins over Georgia, Cyprus, and Greece, with the latter two coming on consecutive days this past weekend, the blue-and-white is feeling confident about its play and where it stands heading into the final stages of preparation.
However, when analyzing the victories in Limassol this past weekend, they need to be taken with a grain of salt – especially the 109-69 trouncing of an overmatched Cyprus and the 75-58 thrashing of a second-rate Greek squad that was missing its four best players.
Head coach Ariel Beit Halachmi isn’t going to hide from the fact that Vassilis Spanoulis’s squad was without NBA MVP and champion Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kostas Sloukas, Kostas Papanikolaou, and Konstantinos Mitoglou when looking back at the 17-point win over Greece.
“I don’t want to talk about the win too much,” the bench boss began. “But what we did well was that in the second half, we raised the level of our aggressiveness, and from there, things were a lot easier. We have to take everything in proportion, and it’s still very early in terms of preparing for the EuroBasket. If we don’t play defense and win the battle of the boards, we will not be able to win our games.”
The Israeli defense held Greece to just 17 paltry points over the course of the second half – one in which Greece looked thoroughly disinterested in playing – but regardless, Spanoulis wasn’t happy with his team’s showing when players on the fringes of his roster should have done a better job.
Portland Trail Blazers star forward Deni Avdija and Maccabi Tel Aviv big man Roman Sorkin were both able to do as they pleased against both Greece and Cyprus as they continue to work off their rust. Hapoel Tel Aviv’s Tomer Ginat, along with the Hapoel Jerusalem trio Yovel Zoosman, Nimrod Levi, and naturalized guard Khadeen Carrington, have all been solid. But the most concerning position for Israel is point guard.
Team is heavily relying on Yam Madar
The blue-and-white is banking heavily on Yam Madar, who has been injured for more than four months and has not played consistently since helping Hapoel Tel Aviv win the EuroCup, which allowed the Reds to punch their ticket to the Euroleague for the 2025/26 season.
Madar has yet to take part in any of the warmup games and, according to reports, has been practicing without contact as per the plan laid out by the Israel Basketball Association. With the national team heading into its last preparation game next week in Montenegro, Beit Halachmi will no doubt want to have Madar on the court as the opening game of the EuroBasket against Iceland is slated for August 28.
There are certainly players fighting for spots on the final roster – from guards Roi Huber, Noam Yaacov, and Ethan Burg; forwards Gur Lavy and Rafi Menco; as well as centers Idan Zalmanson and Itay Segev.
However, the real story is that of point guard—arguably Israel’s top floor general was not called up to the squad that will be playing in Katowice, Poland, and that’s Tamir Blatt.
The Maccabi Tel Aviv maestro was not brought in by Beit Halachmi and Israel Basketball Association Chairman Amos Frishman after Blatt did not play in any of the national team windows during qualification, each time having some sort of injury or wanting to rest.
It’s clear that the relationship between the coach and player is not the best, and it’s also obvious that Blatt and Madar have had their issues in the past, including at the last EuroBasket in Prague.
It’s also unfortunate that some of the players who could influence the decision-makers did not step forward and try to calm the tension, as Blatt is needed to play in this tournament, should Israel want to play its best basketball.
Adding to the fact that no one really knows how effective Madar will be, or if he will even be fit enough to make the final roster, how was Blatt not called up for this competition? That’s the question every fan of the Israel national team needs to ask.
Sure, Beit Halachmi has every right to call up the players he sees fit to play for the national team, but it’s not “his” personal national team – it’s the people of Israel’s national team, and that of the fans, citizens, and lovers of the Holy Land.
Challenges during a time of war
During a time of national strife, war, conflict, and suffering, as hostages are still being held in Gaza by Hamas terrorists, everyone associated with the Blatt story needed to sit down and let cooler heads prevail.
There is a Hebrew saying: “Don’t be right, be smart” – which is exactly what did not occur here. Instead, Israel needed to be smart and not right in this case, and ensure that the best possible team is on the court for the upcoming EuroBasket.
One can say that Israel dished out 22 assists against Greece, or that it was clear Blatt didn’t view the national team as the be-all and end-all during a long and arduous Euroleague season – there are plenty of excuses to be “right” in not calling the point guard up.
But wouldn’t the Israel Basketball Association want the best tools in their toolbox for what will not be an easy European Championship group stage with Luka Doncic’s Slovenia, host Poland, Iceland, Belgium, never mind one of the greatest basketball nations in France?
Blatt will not be at the EuroBasket, Madar’s status is still unclear, and Beit Halachmi and his players have their work cut out for them as the time continues to tick toward the opening tip. Whether Blatt will be missed is a question that can only be answered once the tournament gets going – but there’s no question that Israel on the floor would have been a much better team with him than without.