The summer months are super busy for Israeli basketball youth players as a slew of European Championship tournaments will be taking place for both men and women in a number of age classes across the continent. From the Under-20’s, U18 and U16 teams, the future of Israeli basketball is on display in a variety of cities as the future stars, the great hopes and the up and coming stars ply their trade as they gear up for gold.

One of those stars is without a doubt Maya Zilbershlag (18, 1.77m / 5’10″) who is considered one of the brightest young prospects in Israeli women’s basketball. The guard has extensive experience with Israel’s youth national teams and is set to begin her sixth campaign for the blue-and-white at the upcoming FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship in Lithuania.

Last summer, Zilbershlag played for both the U18 and U20 national teams. With the U18 squad, she finished as the tournament’s leading scorer, averaging 18.4 points per game, although Israel was relegated to Division B. She also competed with the U20 team, averaging 8.5 points per game despite playing through an injury, helping Israel reach the quarterfinals after a historic victory over France.

This past season, Zilbershlag played for Maccabi Bnot Ashdod in the Israel Women’s Premier League, averaging 9.3 points in 28.8 minutes per game. Next season, she will begin her college career at Purdue University.

Just ahead of the upcoming competition in Alytus-Klaipeda between July 4-12, The Sports Rabbi spoke with the young guard about the national team, women’s basketball, her move to the NCAA and her dreams for the future.

“It’s been great so far,” Zilbershlag began as she spoke about the atmosphere with the national team thus far. “We’ve been practicing together for about a month and a half now and we’re really starting to build our system.”

As for her past season with Ashdod, Zilbershlag was able to continue to work on her craft, “I had an amazing season. The people were incredible and it was a great place to be. I really enjoyed it and I think I learned so much and developed as a player there. I was fortunate to work with some amazing people.”

This coming year, Zilbershlag will head to college as she looks to continue her development, “Over the past few years, I realized that going to college was my goal and what I wanted to do. I visited Purdue and really connected with the atmosphere, the people and the campus. I’m coming there to play and be the best player I can be, and that’s exactly what they expect from me as well. Hopefully everything goes well.”

This past season, there were two Israelis on campus at Purdue in Hila Karsh and Omer Mayer who were able to give Zilbershlag some advice as she made her decision as to where she would be for the 2026/27 campaign.

“Yes, I spoke with both of them. Each one shared a little about their experience. I talked more with Hila, I actually spent almost two days with her there. They both told me what it’s like to be there and how much they enjoyed it. I also saw the relationships Hila had with the players and the coaching staff and that really helped me make my decision.”

Last summer Zilbershlag represented Israel on both the U20 and U18 teams which also seems to be the plan for this year as she is currently focusing on the Under-20’s while the Under-18 competition take place at the end of July and into August in Tulcea, Romania.
“Right now I’m focused on the here and now with the U20 team and God willing, the U18 team as well.”

Last year you Zilbershlag was the leading scorer at the U18 European Championship, but didn’t have much help as the team was relegated to Division B, “It was challenging. We went into the tournament right after the war, without much preparation or many practices. This year I really hope we’ll have much better preparation and it’s already been very different from last year because we’ve been able to build a much more consistent and productive training routine. Last year is behind us and now we’re looking forward and trying to achieve the best result we possibly can.”

Zilbershlag was injured during the U20 tournament last year but still played in the huge win over France, scoring 16 points as she spoke about some of the high points during the campaign.

“I injured my ankle in the first game, I rolled it a bit so I didn’t really play much in the first few games. The game against France was one of the biggest games I’ve ever played in. We were all so energized, so focused and we really wanted to win and prove ourselves. We were fighting for everything out there. It was an incredible victory and I think everyone who was part of that team was privileged to represent Israel in such a huge win.”

There’s no question as one of the young stars, Zilbershlag brings a tremendous amount to table on what is a very talented roster, “At the end of the day, we all know that everyone has a role to play and our common goal is to win, represent our country and play the best basketball we can. I’m sure we’ll find the right balance and everyone will have their role and help the team as much as possible.”

One of the team’s top players is unquestionably Gal Raviv who played at the University of Miami this past year and was a teammate of Zilbershlag’s last summer, “Gal is an excellent player. I think she brings a lot to the team and in general she helps all of us become better players in practice. She brings something that really helps the team win and we both know that our goal is to win and be the best we can. We’ll do everything we can to make that happen.”

The U20 squad will have a number of exhibition games in a tournament abroad in Latvia that was jointly organized by the Israel Basketball Association and the Latvian Federation. This will allow the team to be able to play some high quality warmup games which of course is crucial for the success of Zilbershalg and the squad as a whole.

“The exhibition games are very important. You can’t really know how things are going to work, or understand the structure, the hierarchy, or how the team functions, until you actually play games. These games will help us build chemistry both on and off the court. Spending time together overseas will be good for us, and I really hope it helps.”

As for the future of women’s basketball in Israel, Zilbershalg feels that it’s a bright one, “I’m really happy with what’s been happening over the past few years. I think our generation is slowly breaking through more and more barriers and reaching places we never imagined. I hope we continue to develop, keep breaking boundaries, represent our country with pride and become the best we can be.”

When is comes to dream and goals, Zilbershlag was straight and to the point, “My biggest dream is to make it to the WNBA, while as for the team’s goals for the upcoming tournament is to go as far as we possibly can.”