The Israeli national team's Mundobasket dream fades: "We have two options: to be upset or to learn"
After a 106:86 loss to Poland, the Israeli national team has lost its realistic chances of qualifying for the World Cup. Players and staff are now focusing on learning from the experience for future campaigns.
The Israeli national team lost yesterday (Thursday) to Poland 106:86 in the first game of the second group stage of the World Cup qualifiers, thereby losing a realistic chance to qualify for the Mundobasket next summer. Just before the game against Latvia on Sunday, the Blue and Whites' record stands at five losses against two wins. As the results from the first group stage carry over, this loss effectively ended the World Cup dream.
It is no wonder that the atmosphere in the locker room and later at the hotel was described as "depressed." A team source added that the frustration regarding the team's lack of readiness was palpable during the late dinner. The most concerning figure was the 106 points conceded by the defense, following 101 points allowed in the practice game against Georgia.
From the start, the Poles established a quick double-digit lead, dictated the pace, and left Ariel Beit-Halachmi's players chasing the game. While the preparation game showed defensive cracks in the final quarter, yesterday the Israeli defense simply did not show up for the battle. The Poles fully exploited their physical advantage, dominated the paint, and controlled the tempo throughout all four quarters.
As expected, the lack of frontcourt depth took its toll. Roman Sorkin was again forced to carry the load alone in the paint (finishing with 26 points and six rebounds), but the gap in size against Aleksander Balcerowski and the Polish frontcourt proved too much to overcome. Itay Segev provided his usual aggressiveness, but it was not enough against an exceptional offensive performance from the visitors.
"Surely everyone is upset, and we are sorry about it," Sorkin said after the game. "We cannot throw away games. We will do the best we can with what is left. What didn't work defensively? In hindsight, it's easy to point to many things. We started badly. We need to give credit to Poland, a very good team. I think all the players who will be in the next windows need to work as a team. We will come out of this stronger. We have two options: to be upset or to learn. We will learn from this so that for the next campaign, for every campaign we reach, we will be more prepared and united."
The Poles did their homework on the backcourt, which was expected to be a strength with Yam Madar and Tamir Blatt playing together for the first time since EuroBasket 2022. However, the physicality and experience of Mateusz Ponitka and Michal Sokolowski choked the passing lanes, preventing Israel from producing the fast transition game it relies on. Madar and Blatt struggled to find a rhythm, and Cadyen Carrington (10 points) failed to provide the spark needed to break the Polish defense.
"Even before this window, I didn't calculate the chances. The chances after the two previous windows were not high," concluded Beit-Halachmi. "We need to play differently, to look different. The fans and we don't deserve this. This time players arrived, but we are still not at our strongest roster. In the end, when you come up against these teams that come with their full roster, it's not easy."
Now that the calculators have been put aside and the chance to qualify has become slim to non-existent, the game against Latvia on Sunday changes its face. Instead of a "do or die" game, the Blue and Whites will play for honor. In the absence of pressure, Beit-Halachmi and his players must find the internal motivation to show character and avoid ending the window on a note of total collapse.
