The Future Is Bright: Avdija Leads Israel to Back-To-Back U20 Eurobasket Titles/ Shai Boker

Shai Boker
22 ביולי 2019
זמן קריאה 5 דקות

Yair Kravitz and Yotam Hanochi raise the throphy. (FIBA.Basketball)

Israel beat Spain 92:84 on Sunday night, as Deni Avdija (23 points, 7 assists, 3 blocks) was spectacular on both ends of the floor, leading Israel to its second consecutive U20 European championship. Yam Madar, Eidan Alber, and Raz Adam were great down the stretch and all finished in double digit scoring for the game. Miguel Gonzalez (14 points) led five Spaniards in double figures. Game summary, key stats, five takeaways from the tournament, interviews from the final with Avdija and Adam, all-tournament team, tournament MVP, scores from the final day of the FIBA U20 European Championships, and interviews with Lithuania’s Vitalijus Kozys and Italy’s Guglielmo Caruso await.

Game Summary:

Israel, in front of a packed Sholmo-Group Arena, got off to a fast start on both ends of the floor, taking a 10:2 lead after a Madar fast break layup. The 10-2 run to start the game also included Madar completing a three-point-play to get Israel on the scoreboard, two vicious blocked shots by Avdija, and a nice spinning layup from Amit Suss.

Three pointers started to fall on both ends of the floor as Carlos Alocen made a three to cut the lead to 10:7, but Avivi matched him immediately with one of his own. Gonzalez came back with a three as well, only to see Suss reply and give Israel a 16:10 lead with 5:20 remaining in the first quarter. Arnau Parrado and Adam Sola entered off Spain’s bench and sparked a 0-10 run by the Reds to take a two-point lead at 18:20 with 2:55 to play in the first 10 minutes. The first quarter ended with the score being tied at 24:24.

Avdija's vicious block on Igancio Rosa. (FIBA.Basketball)

Avdija hits a three in transition. (FIBA.Basketball)

Martinez gets an easy layup. (FIBA.Basketball)

Spain was the team that got off to a good start in the second quarter as easy points in the paint by Alejandro Galan and Sergi Martinez, taking a 26:30 advantage 75 second into the quarter. Josep Puerto continued his team’s momentum and found a seam in Israel’s defense to beat the shot clock with a nice dunk, extending the lead to 29:34. On the other end, Madar found Avdija for a three-pointer which got Israel back to within two. Parrado answered him with a dunk, and following Adam's made layup, Puerto knocked down a three ball of his own to make the lead five points again.

Parrado throws it down. (FIBA.Basketball)

On the other end, Tomer Porat beat the shot clock with a three of his own, erasing Puerto’s three and brining Israel to within 37:39. A pull up jumper by Porat made sure the teams headed to the locker room knotted up at 42:42.

Porat continued playing well into the third quarter by getting himself stuck behind the basket with less than two seconds on the shot clock and chucking up a wild shot that went in giving Israel a 44:42 lead. Good teamwork by Israel on the offensive end led to easy points for Raz Adam and Madar, extending the lead to 48:44 with 6:51 to play in the third quarter. Ignacio Rosa got red-hot from three as he made three 3-pointers in a row tying the game at 56:56. Carlos Alocen picked off a bad pass from Porat and raced down the other end for a layup, giving Spain a 56:58 lead and forcing Ariel Beit-Halahmi to call for time with 4:08 remaining in the quarter. Israel came back strong from the timeout finishing the quarter on a 10-1 run, thanks in large-part to Eidan Alber who completed a 4-point play by drilling a three pointer off an Adam offensive rebound after Alber missed his second free throw (64:58 lead).

Eidan Alber sets the crowd on fire after drilling a huge 3-pointer. (FIBA.Basketball)

Madar would conclude the third quarter with a pullup jumper giving Israel a 66:59 lead headed into the final 10 minutes.

Israel continued its momentum into the final quarter as Avdija capped off a 14-1 run giving Israel a 70:59 lead. Gonzalez wasn’t about to quit and drilled a three-pointer while drawing a foul, completing a four-point play and cutting the lead to seven points. Another big three by Alber gave Israel its largest lead of the game at 75:63, forcing Spain to call for time with 6:55 left on the clock. Even after the timeout, the host continued its dominance as Avdija and Alber hit two more huge threes, extending Israel’s lead to 86:69 with 4:53 left. Spain was able to cut the lead back to seven, but Avdija sealed the deal with a three-point play giving Israel a 92:82 lead inside the final 30 second, securing back-to-back titles for the young men in Blue and White.

Avdija and Madar hold the trophy. (FIBA.Basketball)

Israel had five players finish in double-figures on the night:

Avdija: 23 pts, 7 asts, 5 rebs, 3 blks, 1 stl, 27 PIR

Madar: 17 pts, 8 asts, 2 stls, 20 PIR

Porat: 11 pts

Alber: 10 pts, 3 rebs, 3 asts, 13 PIR

Adam: 10 pts, 6 rebs, 3 asts, 2 stls, 15 PIR

Spain had five players who scored in double-digits in the game:

Gonzalez: 14 pts

Parrado: 13 pts

Puerto: 13 pts

Martinez: 10 pts

Alocen: 10 pts, 11 asts, 7 rebs, 5 stls, 22 PIR

Key stats:

Rebounds: ISR 34 ESP 31

Assists: ISR 27 ESP 23

Turnovers: ISR 15 ESP 15

Steals: ISR 9 ESP 10

Blocks: ISR 3 ESP 2

Points off turnovers: ISR 18 ESP 14

Fast break points: ISR 19 ESP 10

Points in the paint: ISR 30 ESP 24

Bench points: ISR 40 ESP 41

Threes made: ISR 11/26 ESP 11/25

Five takeaways from the tournament:

1) The future of Israeli basketball is brighter than ever before.

Israel has made it to three consecutive U20 European Finals, winning the last two. One request: Let these kids play on the senior national team!

2) Spain had phenomenal prospects.

Carlos Alocen and Sergi Martinez have really proven to be players that any team can count on. It’s no secret that they made it to the All-Tournament Team.

3) Serbia’s relegation is a new low for a basketball powerhouse country.

This raises the following question: What’s in store for their future?

4) Joel Parra’s injury was a huge blow for Spain.

Parra landed badly on his ankle in the quarterfinal vs. Turkey. X-rays were negative, but he is out two to three months with a high-ankle sprain.

5) With his FIBA U20 Eurobasket 2019 MVP award, Avdija might have justified all the talk about him being a top-5 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Stats during the Championship run: 18.4 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 5.3 APG, 2.1 SPG, 2.4 BLKSPG, 22.6 PIR

Deni Avdija on supporting cast: