Match Preview
This Group G clash sees Israel face Germany on a neutral court in Riga, with the visitors already through to the second phase, while Israel need a positive result to strengthen their qualification hopes. Both teams will miss a couple of star players, Deni Avdija for Israel, Wagner brothers for Germany.
Israel Struggled Against Big Guns
Israel enter this fifth round with a 2-2 record, securing those victories when they simply had no room for error against minnows Cyprus (94-54 and 83-54), while revealing plenty of weak spots in the two other true tests.
They were smashed in the opening round by favored Germany 89-69 in Ulm, mostly due to committing 20 turnovers and allowing the opposition to attempt 20 more field goals.
In the follow-up clash, Israel faced Croatia on a neutral court in Riga, stayed competitive in the first half but suffered another defeat 85-71, struggling on the boards with a 38-27 rebounding deficit. Veteran Roman Sorkin had a good game despite the loss, registering 20 points and three rebounds.
Germany Already Through to the Second Phase
Considering they couldn’t count on the Wagner brothers and Dennis Schroeder so far, Germany are doing great in the FIBA World Cup 2027 qualifiers, already clinching a spot in the next phase with a 3-1 record.
After starting this campaign with two very dominant back-to-back victories against Israel 89-69 and Cyprus 83-64, the Germans couldn’t contain Croatia’s three-point shooting in the third round, which led to a 93-88 loss.
In the reverse tie played in Bonn a couple of days later, they pulled off a comeback in the fourth quarter to force overtime and won this important encounter 91-89, where Johannes Thiemann was unstoppable with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Oscar Da Silva also recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.