Yaara Yitzchaki, who began the qualifiers’ campaign as the team’s captain back in November 2019, ended up not being invited to the bubble games because of a tough and long rehabilitation process overcoming a knee injury. That fact did not prevent her from preparing us for the bubble experience in an exclusive interview with Osim Sport. Among other things we spoke of the generation change on the National Team, Eden Rotberg’s challenge as the captain, and Yaara’s injury.
In the previous qualifiers’ campaign back in 2019, the national team had big-name players like Shai Doron and Alicia Clark, side by side with young talented players like Eden Rotberg and Tal Lev. However, that team did not manage to win the ticket to the EuroBasket. Before the current campaign, the Israeli Basketball Association decided to build the Israeli team with the younger generation. Eli Rabi was again appointed to coach the team.
The team leaving for the Greek bubble therefore includes: Eden Rotberg, Shahd Abboud, Tal Lev, Daniel Raber, Alex Cohen, Emi Rinat, Gili Eisner, Danie Karsh, Liad Orbach, May Dayan, Tslil Vaturi, Miriam Hannoun, and Eden Zipel.
A bit about the team:
- Tal Lev will be taking part in her third campaign on the senior team.
- Eden Rotberg will act for the first time as the team’s captain. It will be her second- ever international campaign playing on the senior national team. In the first campaign she scored an average of 3.5 points per game. In her last season, with Elitzur Ramle, she scored 12.5 PPG, leading all Israeli players. She was also in the overall league’s top 10 Israeli players in most statistics. She had an average of 9.8 PPG during her first time playing in one of the top European tournaments – the EuroCup.
And now, to the interview with Yaara:
How important is the ‘changing of the guards’ to the return of the Israeli National team to the EuroBasket? (whether in these qualifiers or the next ones)
"If there is a list of things that are important in running a national team, a smartly managed, sensitive and well-balanced generation change should be at the top. In this case, things were kind of forced on the team, but the good thing about it is that a new young team was created, one that has ample runway to play together and gel. I am not sure we will be able to qualify for the Eurobasket in this campaign, maybe even due to our performance in the previous window (lost 40:77 to Sweden in the opener of the qualifiers), but I truly believe we will make it in the next campaign."
What would be considered an achievement in the bubble qualifiers?
“I do not like to define what would be considered an achievement because achievements are situation dependent. In this case it is a combination of the current reality, not the most promising one, of the hope to gel and play well as a team and those are things one cannot really predict. I read in one of the interviews that our coach Eli, thinks the same. We must remember that the players have not played a professional game for over six months. In this situation it is tough to predict what the team can realistically achieve. I really hope the team wins, but I am a bit skeptical. From my perspective a real achievement would be to give a good performance, to be considered fearless and fired up. Actual scores at this stage of the team’s life are less interesting, as much as I hate losing.
As someone who played the National Team’s captain role and knows how to lead a team, what type of a challenge is it to be a team captain, and do you think Eden is ready for it? Can she lead the national team to achievements?
Being a national team captain is the highest honor a player can aspire to. It is a moment that players dream of as soon as they begin dribbling the ball. Eden is a real close friend of mine and I couldn’t be happier about her selection. I truly believe that just as much as this role will help the other players it will help her develop her own game to a new level. It has the potential of adding a layer that is not necessarily related to her own personal game. It is not only about taking responsibility for leading an offensive play or scoring at the last second, it is truly about leadership. It is about carrying the team on her shoulders, creating positive momentum when it matters. I know she has it in her, though I am not sure she is aware of it herself. This is why I am happy she was selected – because she fits the role and the role fits her. She has the skill set to perform the captain’s role better than anyone!"
Does the team have enough ‘tools’ around Eden to challenge teams like Montenegro and Sweden and even win?
“Let me begin by saying that this is one of the best teams put together in Israel when it comes to talent and potential. The potential is huge.
I do believe that in order to reach real achievements at the international level we need to make many changes – not only in preparing the team for tournaments but also in the women’s league itself.
I believe that expecting 13 relatively inexperienced women to win against good international teams is not realistic. On any other team you gradually add young players alongside the experienced ones so as to do it in a balanced fashion. The role of the experienced players is to ease the road for the young ones. The situation here is different.
I believe there is always a chance to win a game and that a truly competitive and professional player should always enter the court convinced she can win, no matter who the opponent team is.”
How frustrating is it for you not to be able to help the team out in the current qualifiers campaign? Will you be ready to rejoin the team in the next campaign?
“Very frustrating. I have no shame in expressing just how annoying it is. I also think that if I had a problem expressing that frustration – that in itself would have attested to a different problem. It really irks me to no end. That said, I truly hope for each of my friends on the national team that they will succeed. This is the only thing I wish for them. They are all my friends, they are my teammates and I will be by their side during the good and bad – whether I am physically present there or not. I believe I will be ready for the next window. I am already making good progress on my rehab.”
While it is true that Yaara will not play in the Greek bubble, she continues to be one of the strongest and most passionate voices in Israeli women’s basketball and maybe in women’s sports in Israel as a whole.
This coming Thursday at 2PM, the Israeli National Women’s Basketball team will face Montenegro, and then on Saturday at 2PM it will face Sweden. The Israeli women lost to Sweden 40:77 at the Shlomo Group Arena in the opening window of the qualifiers.
We wish the team success in the bubble and hope that it will find a way to keep their Eurobasket dream alive.
