Israel stuns Spain, advances into U20 Euro basketball quarterfinals

 NOAM YAACOV and Israel pulled off a big upset yesterday at the Under-20 European Championships, beating Spain 59-52. The blue-and-white next faces Germany in the quarterfinals on Thursday. (photo credit: FIBA)
NOAM YAACOV and Israel pulled off a big upset yesterday at the Under-20 European Championships, beating Spain 59-52. The blue-and-white next faces Germany in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
(photo credit: FIBA)

Israel shocked Spain 59-52 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Under-20 European Championships as Noam Yaacov and Danny Wolf once again rose to the occasion to take the surprise victory on Wednesday in Heraklion, Greece.

Head coach Elad Hasin’s squad saw the dynamic duo of Yaacov and Wolf combine for 37 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists to send the blue-and-white into yet another knockout matchup, this time against Germany on Thursday at 9 p.m.

Israel got off to a fast start as Ron Zipper and Noam Yaacov got busy but Michael Caicedo and Juan Nunez helped Spain close the gap as the blue-and-white help onto a slim 17-16 lead after 10 minutes of play. Pablo Tamba and Ruben Dominguez found points for Spain while Wolf and Yaacov countered for the Israelis, who took a 34-32 advantage into halftime.

Bottom of the basket

Wolf and Yaccov kept finding the bottom of the basket as the third quarter opened up in a frenzy but Nunez and Dominguez helped spur Spain on a 13-0 run to take a 45-42 lead after 30 minutes. Yaacov and Wolf kept up the scoring spree in the fourth quarter, to help Israel stun the Spaniards to advance to the quarterfinals.

Wolf notched a 21 point-13 rebound double-double, Yaacov added 16 points and seven assists while Zipper scored seven points in the win. Dominguez led Spain with 10 points while Nunez and Adria Rodriguez each had eight points in the loss.

“I have one sentence for everyone, don’t eulogize the Israel National Team,” Hasin said after the win. “We did the unthinkable today and we beat the favorites to win the tournament, a team that hast lost over the past couple of years. I am very proud of everyone, the entire staff, my assistants, Yoav and Amit, the parents that are here, everyone. Never eulogize Israel.”

“We did the unthinkable today and we beat the favorites to win the tournament, a team that hast lost over the past couple of years. I am very proud of everyone, the entire staff, my assistants, Yoav and Amit, the parents that are here, everyone. Never eulogize Israel.”

Elad Hasin