Israel’s remarkable run at the FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship continued with a huge 78–69 victory over Belgium, securing a historic place in the final for the first time in their history. Maayan Cohen starred with a sensational performance, scoring 26 points and knocking down eight 3-pointers, as Israel controlled the game from start to finish on its way to a memorable victory.

Tal Natan’s squad delivered an outstanding performance against Belgium, leading throughout the contest on the way to a convincing win. Cohen’s eight 3-pointers accounted for nearly half of Israel’s 17 triples, while the Israeli defense completely shut down Belgium’s offense in the second quarter to take a commanding 41–20 halftime lead. Belgium attempted to rally in the second half, but Israel consistently came up with the right plays to preserve its advantage and punch its ticket to the final. Cohen led the way with 26 points, Oren added 16 points and Raviv scored 13 points in the win.

“We want to be European champions and we want to win the title,” Israel head coach Tal Natan said following the game. “We held a training camp at Hadar Yosef and for two and a half months I barely left the place. The girls worked incredibly hard, along with the outstanding coaching staff that has been with me. The celebration here in Lithuania is incredible. Everyone is dancing and the excitement is enormous. Do you understand what it means to play against Belgium, France and Spain? I’m so happy for the Israel Basketball Association, for these girls, for this national team and for this coaching staff. Our country has gone through some very difficult times, and this gives everyone a big reason to smile.”

The MVP of the game Maayan Cohen also made Israel’s intentions for the final clear, “The excitement is unbelievable. There’s nothing better than making history, winning game after game and showing everyone how united and close this team is. We’ve been working toward this from the very beginning of the campaign, and we’ll say it loud and clear: our goal is to finish on the podium and even take first place.

“We came here to compete and go right at every opponent. There are several teams we’ve beaten this year after painful losses to them last year, so we came into every game fully prepared. The coaching staff has done an incredible job and the chemistry among the players is evident on the court. Something special is happening here and we want to keep it going by winning the European Championship on Sunday.”

Israel came out firing on all cylinders, opening the game with four consecutive 3-pointers to build a 12–2 lead. Even a Belgian timeout failed to cool off the hot shooting, as Ayala Oren added two more triples to extend the lead to 18–7. Belgium responded from deep to trim the gap, while Gal Raviv was held without a field goal in the opening quarter, which ended with Israel leading 24–20.

The second quarter belonged to Israel and especially to Maayan Cohen. The guard caught fire from beyond the arc, draining three after three to reach seven made triples as Israel exploded to a 17–0 run, opening up a 41–20 advantage. Belgium struggled to solve Israel’s zone defense and the scoreboard showed a stunning 43–25 lead for the blue-and-white at halftime.

Israel maintained its momentum in the third quarter, with strong play from Oren stretching the lead to 50–26. Belgium managed to put together a run, but timely three-pointers from Maya Elmalich and Raviv restored Israel’s cushion at 61–39. Belgium hit a late triple to cut the deficit to 63–46 heading into the fourth quarter.

Belgium continued its comeback attempt in the final period, trimming the deficit to single digits. However, crucial baskets from Cohen and Oren pushed Israel back in front 70–59 with five minutes remaining. Oren then drew an unsportsmanlike foul and Maya Zilbershlag buried a clutch 3-pointer to seal a tremendous victory and send Israel into the European Championship final.