Israel defeated Greece in a thrilling opening game of the FIBA Under-18 European Championship, prevailing 93–84 after overtime. But Aviv Aronov and David Musis starred in the win. Coached by Nadav Zilberstein, Israel stayed within striking distance despite Greece’s outstanding three-point shooting in the first half (9-of-17 from beyond the arc), trailing by just one point at halftime, 44–43.

In the second half, the lead changed hands several times. Israel held a slight advantage for stretches while dominating the rebounding battle (57–44 overall). Greece appeared to have secured the win after building a nine-point lead with just 90 seconds remaining, but Israel responded with a sensational 9–0 run to tie the game at 77–77 and force overtime.

Israel carried that momentum into the extra period, led by Aronov and Musis, who guided the team to an impressive 93–84 victory in its tournament opener. Israel will face last year’s runners-up, France, on Sunday in its second Group A game.

Aronov scored 30 points, Musis added 26 points and grabbed 19 rebounds while Rom Stoller chipped in with 11 points in the win.

After the victory, national team coach Nadav Zilberstein said, “It was a typical first game, with lots of momentum swings and runs by both teams. There was a great deal of excitement and pressure on the players, which is only natural. We’re a very good team that knows what it expects of itself. Apart from the first five minutes, we played smarter and made better decisions, we got to the spots we wanted, and we raised our defensive intensity in the second half. We executed our defensive game plan.”

The MVP of the win Aviv Aronov also shared his thoughts, “This is the sweetest kind of victory. We’re a generation with tremendous character, we’ve been through a lot. There was a large demonstration against Israel, but my teammates and I gave everything for our country. It was very important for us to win, and we never gave up even when things weren’t going our way. Everyone gave everything they had, showed incredible character and didn’t let anything break us. We’re very pleased with the result, and now our focus is already on the next game so we can do the very best we can for the people of Israel and the country.”