JERUSALEM, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Israel suffered a big blow in their quest to qualify for the 2023 Basketball World Cup after an 83-95 home loss against Sweden on Sunday evening.
The loss dropped Israel to fifth place in Group J, with the top three qualifying for the World Cup finals, to be held in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia starting on August 25, 2023.
After two gamedays in the group, Germany and Finland have a win-loss record of 7-1 each, with the results from the previous stage are counted.
Slovenia is third with a 5-3 record, while Sweden and Israel are 3-5 and Estonia is 2-6, with four gamedays to go.
Around 3,500 fans at the Shlomo Group Arena in Tel Aviv saw a close first quarter ending 24-23 for the visitors, then Melwin Pantzar and Tobias Borg inspired Sweden to dominate the game, leading 52-38 lead at half-time and 58-38 at the beginning of the third quarter.
Yam Madar led Israel to cut the gap to 70-60 at the end of the third quarter, and Washington Wizards forward Deni Avdija reduced it to 70-66 with a three pointer in the 32nd minute.
However, important points by Simon Birgander at crucial moments secured the win for the Swedes.
Borg scored 20 points for Sweden. Pantzar added 18 points, while Birgander contributed 16 points and seven rebounds. Madar scored a game-high 27 points for Israel.
On Friday, Israel will play their first game in the EuroBasket 2022 final tournament, against Finland in Prague. Finland defeated Israel 79-73 on Thursday in a World Cup qualifier in Tampere. ■
