The Israel National Team tips-off against Sweden on Sunday night at the Drive In Arena (21:00) as the blue-and-white want to finish this window of World Cup qualifiers on a high note. However, one of the most important “Blagult” players is big man Simon Birgander.

The 24-year old has been playing in Spain with Badalona since 2017 and has developed into one of the club’s key players which has also helped him hone his skills as he is counted on by his national team.

Just ahead of the qualification matchup, The Sports Rabbi caught up with Birgander as he spoke about how basketball is viewed in Sweden, his time together with Israeli swingman Shawn Dawson and the immediate goals coming up.

“Of course we want to win the game and play as well as possible. We want to try and get as many points as we can to take into the next window of play.”
 
Birgander hasn’t played Israel in quite some time he recalled, “It’s been a long time since I played against Israel. The last time was when I was with the Under-20 team. Israel now has many Euroleague players and also an NBA player as they are a very good team with very good fans. It will be a tough game but everything is possible.”

 
As for having to guard against Deni Avdija, Birgander feels that he is up to the challenge, “Playing against an NBA player like Deni Avdija is always hard, they are all very good players. Deni is a superstar in his country and a playmaker, so it will be very hard to stop him. Israel is very deep and very focussed and we have to ourselves be focused on finding a way to stop Avdija.”
 
The last time Sweden advanced to a major tournament was way back in 2013 when they played in the Eurobasket. With a 2-4 record at the start of this World Cup qualification window, Sweden will have a tough time making it to the upcoming tournament in Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines.

“It’s been a really long time. Our goal is to play as good as possible at all times and although it’s a tough round we will play the best that we can.”

Basketball is still a developing sport in Sweden as other sports still have the public’s attention, but Birgander explains that the roundball is making strides due to some of the games superstars, “Basketball is getting bigger and bigger but it is still small compared to football, hockey and handball. Many children are playing and the local professional players visit the schools to encourage being active in the sport. Another plus is the NBA which helps a lot with children wanting emulate some of the superstars like Steph Curry.”

As for role models off the court, Birgander looks to his family but on the court he says there are two specific players that stand out in his mind, “I like Nikola Jokic and Anthony Davis with my goal wanting to play defense like Davis, who is very flexible and can block shots while I would like to be able to pass and score like Jokic. They are amazing players.”
 
Birgander has spent many years at Badalona and he’s starting his 6th season which is quite rare these days for a basketball player. In addition, as the Helsingborg native has continued to grow the club as well has taken strides as they not only play in the ACB Spanish League they have been playing in European competition as over the past few years.

“I came when I was young and they the club care of me. After a half a year they helped with my injury and I decided to stay with the team because they had helped me a lot and that’s what makes them so special.”
 
“As for playing in Europe, it’s a lot better to play more games. Ideally 60 games a year is bets in order to get into the flow even better. Add to that, that we are playing in the ACB which is the second best domestic league just behind the NBA so there are also many tactics involved and scouting.”

 
One of Birgander’s teammates for three seasons at Badalona was Israeli Shawn Dawson who recently signed with Hapoel Holon. The Swedish big man got to spend plenty of time with the Sabra both on and off the court he explained, “We got injured at the same time and we hung out and worked out together. So we enjoyed each other’s company during a tough period of time for the both of us. We worked as hard as possible and we still talk sometimes and support each other on Instagram as we comment on each other’s posts.”
 
As for Birgander’s career, he just wants to continue to improve year in and year and see where that takes him, “As for my career, I don’t know. I try to get better every season and we will see where that will lead me to as I play as well as I can.”