The Israel National Basketball Team came up short against Latvia 85-70 in the second round of World Cup Qualifiers. The blue-and white ends the August window with two losses and have been officially eliminated from World Cup qualifying.

Israel built up a double-digit lead in the second quarter, however, Latvia quickly fought back and tied the game at 41-41 by halftime. The hosts’ momentum continued in the second half, as Latvia maintained its excellent 3-point shooting while Israel struggled offensively in the second half, scoring just 29 points and ultimately succumbed to defeat.

Head Coach Ariel Beit Halachmi spoke about the defeat, “We started the game well, but toward the end of the second quarter we lost the momentum. In the second half, we got into foul trouble and that changed the momentum of the game. They shot a high percentage from 3-point range and took advantage of the mistakes we made. That changed the momentum of the game, and we got into foul trouble.

“I think we don’t have the luxury of showing up for international windows without our leading players. We were missing quite a few players, and that has an impact. Different players have been available for each window, and it’s difficult to implement a style of play. Israeli basketball doesn’t have the option of throwing away games; we need everyone with us. Other national teams have been playing with the same roster for a long period of time, but unfortunately, that’s not the case for us. This is also the place to thank the Latvian Basketball Association, which has been hosting us here for some time and helping us with everything possible.”

Roman Sorkin spoke about the loss, “I can say that from the players’ side, which I’m part of, we have to look better. We can’t look like this. We need to play better. I’m speaking about myself right now and not criticizing anyone else. I have no excuses, the only thing I know is that we have to play better and show up differently for games.”

Lior Carrera and Netanel Artzi gave Israel an early lead, Latvia responded with points in the paint and a Strautins triple bumped up the advantage but a couple of fine plays by Eitan Burg gave Israel a 22-21 lead at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter began with 3-pointers from Guy Palatin and Burg, prompting a Latvian timeout. Israel then stalled offensively, allowing the hosts to cut the gap to 28-27 but from there, Israel went on a 12-2 run to take its biggest lead of the game, 40-29. Latvia came out of the timeout with a 12-1 run of their own to draw even at halftime 41-41.

Artzi opened the third quarter with five straight points, but Latvia answered with an 8-2 run to take a 49-48 lead. Strautins continued to score, extending Latvia’s advantage to 58-52 and prompting a timeout from Ariel Beit Halachmi while Strautins stayed hot to give Latvia a 67-58 lead. The final quarter began with a trio of triples from the hosts, who extended their lead to 76-62 with seven minutes remaining. Israel continued to struggle offensively, while Latvia closed out the victory. Yam Madar scored 15 points, Netanel Artzi added 11 while Itay Segev and Roman Sorkin each scored 9 points.