Live, halftime: Israel - Slovenia 49:44

The Israeli national team is currently facing Slovenia in the quarterfinals of the European Youth Championship. The game carries critical significance: beyond a ticket to the semifinals, the winner will secure its place in the U19 World Championship to be held next summer.

Nadav Zilberstein's squad reached this stage with a perfect record of four wins in four games. On the other hand, the Slovenians have suffered only one loss so far—against Germany—and are considered one of the strongest teams in the championship. The two key players on the Slovenian roster are guard Igor Stepanovic (16.8 points per game, 41.2 percent from beyond the arc) and Stefan Joksimovic, who leads the team with 21 points per night and shoots 44 percent from three-point range.

Slovenia ranks fourth in the tournament in scoring (86.3 points per game), second in field goal percentage (46 percent), and third in three-point percentage (38.8 percent). In the round of 16, Israel defeated Denmark 86:100. David Moses (23 points and 17 rebounds), Aviv Aronov (22 points), and Omri Orland (21 points) led the blue-and-whites to a major victory.

The two teams are familiar with each other from recent years. At the 2024 European Youth Championship, they both secured spots in the World Championship, after which Slovenia defeated Israel in the third-place game. A year later, they met in the quarterfinals of the U19 World Championship, and again, Slovenia came out on top.

Game flow

The opening was offensive and fast, with both teams exchanging baskets non-stop. Moses took responsibility on the Israeli side, while Joksimovic was the central man for Slovenia. Two three-pointers from the Israeli big man gave him double-digit points in the first few minutes and put Israel up 12:15. Later, Aronov joined the long-range shooting, and his shot set the score at 16:20, sending the Slovenians to a timeout. The quarter ended 21:23 for Israel.