Great Britain are crowded out as they lose 82-75 in Israel in their third World Cup qualifier in Tel Aviv.
Gabe Olaseni grabbed a game-high 19 points and eight rebounds but it was able to stop GB falling to 0-3 in their group – leaving their hopes on the brink of evaporation ahead of Sunday’s trip onward to Greece.
Guy Pnini led the hosts with 18 points and it was his flurry against a seemingly tiring visitors that capped an Israeli comeback from as much as 59-49 midway through the third.
An immediate 9-0 run killed off any hope that interim coach Alberto Lorenzo might oversee a rout and the hosts surged in front on the fourth in what turned into a 17-4 burst.
And although Gareth Murray hit a three-pointer that put GB 73-72 ahead with 2:45 left, Pnini stepped up and the Brits were left behind.
“I thought we did a good job in the first half and during the first minutes of the third quarter. But, we kind of lost that advantage, so for me, that is where we lost the momentum of the game,” Lorenzo said.
“At the end we were in a situation of switching on defence and we were still involved in the game, but we made many turnovers in the fourth quarter.â€
Better will be needed against the Greeks but it was one that got away.
“I don’t know exactly the time that we lost our advantage in that third quarter but it was in just two or three minutes,†added Lorenzo.
“At that time, the mind of the players switched and we started to feel like we were losers.”
Photos: Mansoor Ahmed
We have a tiny favour to ask. In 2018 we set out to make Hoopsfix sustainable by building our relationship directly with our readers. Up until now, Hoopsfix has been creating editorials, videos and podcasts to provide sorely missing coverage of the British game and its distinct culture and community.
We have funded Hoopsfix with our freelance work creating basketball media, but sadly that means not only does it fall behind our client’s priorities, but some of those clients are the same organisations we need to report objectively on putting us in a conflicted position.
We want to devote more time to our mission of helping British basketball reach its potential, and produce even more content for the basketball community by making Hoopsfix a sustainable 100% independent business funded directly by our readers through Patreon.
If everyone who enjoys our content chose to support us, our future would be much more secure. For as little as $3 per month, you can support Hoopsfix – and it only takes a minute.
We are tremendously honoured and humbled to have a community of people who value what we do, and we look forward to being at the forefront of the British game as it continues to evolve.
0 comments