Yam Madar, Deni Avdija lead Israel Past Italy in U20 Eurobasket Day 2/ Shai Boker

Shai Boker
15 ביולי 2019
זמן קריאה 4 דקות

Avidja drives the lane in a sea of blue jerseys. (FIBA.Basketball)

Thanks to a great effort from Madar and Avdija, the Israeli team fended off a great fight by Italy who was led by its two college stars, Gabriel Stefanini (Columbia University) and Guglielmo Caruso (Santa Clara University). Game summary, five takeaways and interviews are below.

Game Summary

In front of a sold-out Shlomo Group Arena, it was the Italians who got off to a hot start leading 2:10 after three minutes as Alessandro Pajola and Alvise Sarto combined for eight early points. Yair Kravitz woke his team up with a three pointer and two more points by Madar got Israel to within two points. Stefanini then made a great back-door cut and got a layup as Italy held its lead at 8:12. Four consecutive points by Caruso put the Italians back up by six (10:16) with 2:27 to play in the first 10 minutes. Israel’s superstar, Avdija, got his name in the scorebook with his first points of the night and then added a wild banked-in three pointer that cut the lead to 18:19 after the first quarter.

Madar with the floater. (FIBA.Basketball)

In the beginning of the second quarter, there was only one guy who showed up for Israel and it was enough to change the momentum of the game completely— Yotam Hanochi. The small forward caught fire with three consecutive threes giving Israel a 27:22 advantage and forcing the Italian side to call a timeout with 6:40 remaining in the half. Hanochi came back from the break with a deep two which extended the lead to seven points. Pajola and Mattia Palumbo responded quickly with five points of their own, only to see Madar and Hanoch hitting back-to-back threes and giving Israel a 37:30 lead with 3:33 to go in the half. Israel would double its lead by halftime thanks to a very deep three by Avdija and another three by Kravitz as it headed to the locker room leading 48:34.

In the third quarter, Israel began to pull away as Yam Madar made a jumper after a great behind-the-back crossover to put his team up 52:37. Just then, Stefanini and the Italian side woke up as their point guard along with forward Michele Ebeling, started knocking down threes. They forces Israel to call for time with 4:43 to go in the quarter after the Israeli lead shrunk to 52:43. Caruso rejoined the party and with an easy dunk brought hit team to within one point at 56:55. Yam Madar finished the quarter by beating the buzzer with a nice spinning layup and giving Israel a 58:55 lead.

Stefanini's big second half wasn't enough for the Italians. (FIBA.Basketball)

The Italian momentum continued into the fourth quarter and a three-pointer by Stefanini gave the Italians a 58:62 lead. Noam Avivi and Madar responded on the other end with three threes of their own, giving Israel the lead once again at 69:67 with 5:58 remaining. The Italian managed to tie the game, only to trail again after seeing Kravitz hit another three. From that moment on, Avidija made great plays on both ends giving the Israelis an 81:73 lead that they wouldn’t give up. The final score was 85:75.

Deni Avidja and Eidan Alber celebrate win with the fans. (FIBA.Basketball)

The Israelis had four players who scored in double-figures: Madar lead the winners with 20 points (8 assists, and 5 boards), Avdija had 17 points (7 assists and 9 rebounds), Hanochi had 16 points (6/7 shooting), and Kravitz added 12 points of his own.

The Italians had only two players in double-figures: Caruso led his team with 20 points and 11 rebounds resulting in 32 PIR, while Stefanini added 19 points and 5 assists.

Five takeaways:

1) When Israel runs, it is nearly unstoppable

Israel had 11 fast-break points and 14 points off of 15 Italian turnovers. It’s also worth noting that the Israelis’ transition game was fantastic at times, ending with some big shots by Yam Madar.

2) Israel’s pick n’ roll defense was phenomenal in the second half

After struggling in the first half, Israel stopped running out at Pajola and forced Caruso post up a lot more than he would have liked.

3) Yotam Hanochi is back

The young forward from Gilboa Galil looked like he was back to his old self before his torn ACL, dominating the second quarter with 14 of his 16 points.

Hanochi. The small forward had a night to remember. (FIBA.Basketball)

4) Stefanini and Caruso are a joy to watch

The two Italians who play D1 college basketball have definitely made a name for themselves in this tournament with their overall game perception and excellent scoring ability.

5) Yam Madar has proven to be clutch and an energizer for the Israelis

To be honest, I was skeptical of Madar coming into this tournament as I thought he may watch Deni Avdija and not be aggressive as he is with Hapoel Tel-Aviv. To say the least, he’s been Israel’s best player in the tournament.

Interview with Israel’s Noam Avivi: