Kravitz, Madar, Pace Israel In Win Over Montenegro/ Shai Boker

Shai Boker
18 ביולי 2019
זמן קריאה 4 דקות

Kravitz and Avdija celebrate. (FIBA.Basketball)

Thanks to a great showing by guards Yair Kravitz (15 points) and Yam Madar (18 points), Israel blew out Montenegro in front of a sold-out Shlomo Group Arena in tonight’s sweet 16 and moved on to a U20 quarterfinal matchup with a very good Lithuanian team. Montenegro will have to fight for seedings (9-16), as it hopes to stay in Division A. Game summary, five takeaways, and scores from a busy day of basketball await.

Game Summary

Andrija Slavkovic got the Reds on the scoreboard first after dunking all over Yam Madar. After the Montenegrins extended their lead to three points following a made free throw, Madar, Kravitz and Noam Avivi lead the Israelis on a 7-0 run following a floater by the big man and Israel took a four-point lead with 6:41 to play in the quarter. Igor Drobnjak responded to the host’s run by hitting two threes, as part of an 0-8 run and a 7:11 lead. Madar and Kravitz took charge and lead another 7-0 run to take a 14:11 lead. A pavle Durisic layup got the visitors to within one, but Deni Avdija hit a three-pointer on the other end giving Israel a 19:15 lead after 10 minutes.

Drobnjak. The Montenegrin guard disappeared in the second half. (FIBA.Basketball)

At the beginning of the second quarter, both teams exchanged layups and the score was 21:19 in favor of Israel. The Israeli’s picked up their defense and got back-to-back layups in transition from Eidan Alber and Avivi to extend their lead to six, which forced Montenegro to call for time. Even after the timeout, Israel’s offense was getting anything they wanted in the paint, and Avivi and Alber extended the lead to 30:21 with 6:15 to play in the first half. Marko Simonovic kept his team in the game and led a 0-6 capped off with a dunk to bring his team with three points at 30:27. By halftime, Madar and Raz Adam made sure to give Israel a six-point lead as they headed into the locker room up 40:34.

Raz Adam shoots a three. Had the best Adam show in Tel-Aviv last night. (FIBA.Basketball)

The beginning of the third quarter was an entirely different story than what we saw in the first 20 minutes as the Israelis pounced on every opportunity starting it with a 16-0 run. Here’s a rundown of that run:

Madar made a three off a Kravitz assist. Avivi made a layup off an assist from Avdija. Avdija turnaround jumper after an Avivi steal. Kravitz made a layup off an assist by Amit Suss. Avivi knocked down a three pointer from an assist by Kravitz. Avdija capped off the run with a layup from an assist by Madar.

After another layup by Avdija extended the lead to 58:35, the Montenegrins finally made their first third quarter field goal as Drobnjak made a layup with 4:43 to play in the quarter. Madar, yet again, found Avivi this time for a dunk to reextend the lead to 22 points, but Slavkovic, Vuk Popovic, and Simonovic led their team on a 0-9 run of their own to get back to with 13 points at 62:49. Yotam Hanochi made sure to give Israel a comfortable lead headed into the fourth as his layup gave the Whites a 66:49 advantage after 30 minutes.

Yam Madar. The Israeli guard has been sensational in this tournament. (FIBA.Basketball)

Hanochi got the first field goal for either side in the fourth quarter as he knocked down a three-point shot to give Israel a 71:51 lead with 8:54 left in the game. Avdija and company extended the lead to 26 points with 2:39 remaining following an Ofek Malka three pointer. Israel would go on to win 88:69.

Israel had four players who scored in double-figures:

Madar: 18 pts, 7 asts, 24 PIR

Avivi: 17 pts, 5 rebs, 1 stl, 1 blk, 18 PIR

Kravitz: 15 pts, 7 asts, 6 rebs, 22 PIR

Avdija: 12 pts, 6 asts. 5 rebs, 2 stls, 1 blk, 15 PIR

Montenegro had two players reach double digit scoring:

Simonovic: 15 pts, 16 rebs, 26 PIR

Slavkovic: 11 pts

Five takeaways:

1) Yam Madar is fearless.

The youngster doesn’t care who he has to guard or if he’ll get dunked on. He gives 200% on every play.

2) Israel can count on Yair Kravitz to always step up.

Kravitz took advantage of Avdija’s foul trouble and flirted with a triple double in tonight’s victory.

3) Noam Avivi has been a great surprise

Honestly, I wasn’t really sure what Israel would get from him in this tournament, but he’s proven to be a force on both ends of the floor, averaging 12.3 points per game alongside a blocked shot per game.

4) Israel has to rebound better.

Israel had 34 rebound compared to Montenegro’s 46 tonight. Getting out rebounded tomorrow night vs. Lithuania, will be a huge problem.

5) Marko Simonovic is a monster.

He’s a great rebounder and a good athlete. He will one day cause havoc at the highest-level.

Key stats:

Rebounds: ISR 34 MON 46

Turnovers: ISR 6 MON 19

Steals: ISR 11 MON 2

Blocks: ISR 4 MON 1

Points off turnovers: ISR 26 MON 4

Fast break points: ISR 21 MON 15

Threes made: ISR 9/26 MON 7/30