A short time into the third quarter, a near diplomatic incident occurred on the sidelines in Katowice. Within 41 seconds, the Israel National Team managed to triple its number of 3-pointers (after having gone 1/6 in the first half), and Slovenian coach Aleksander Sekulić nearly screamed at his players, “Free Palatin!” He held back and it’s just as well. It’s doubtful he had more than basic knowledge about Guy Palatin prior to the game and it’s unlikely he imagined that he would be the one to hit back-to-back 3’s and cut the deficit to a tense and tight margin. Doubt may have entered into the stratosphere but at the end of the day there was no doubt at all, because Slovenia’s got one Luka Dončić.

The group stage is over and Israel achieved the minimum that was expected and the baseline goal as they pounced their ticket to the Round of 16, from the lowest possible qualifying spot. But wait, there was that massive win over France and really, who are we to complain, or be disappointed, or not be satisfied? The facts speak for themselves: this isn’t something that happens every day. In fact, we last reached this stage ten years ago.

The loss to Slovenia like the one to Poland (remember? Yes, that was really less than a week ago) highlighted the character of this team: even on off-days, they didn’t take a break and maintained its spirit and pride. There was a late comeback, which briefly sparked the illusion that we might steal the top spot, was too short-lived but ultimately the problem lay in the path that led us there.

Israel came into this game a bit flat. Maybe fatigue was setting in after so many minutes on the court in such a short time. Maybe it was the injuries, the pain, the limitations beginning to surface. Or maybe it was tactical mistakes.

Take, for example, the almost-impossible task of handling Dončić. Not that anyone can truly stop him, but the unnecessary pressure that was applied far away from the basket opened easy passing lanes for him, lanes which he exploited with ease. In the minutes he played (and they were many, almost 34, to be exact), the man was responsible for two-thirds of Slovenia’s points. He scored 37 himself, assisted on 22 more with only 30 points being scored without his direct involvement.

Or take the lineup choices. Roman Sorkin has his advantages and unique traits for many matchups he’ll face, but when he’s slotted in at center against taller, stronger, tougher opponents, it’s bound to be long and frustrating night for him. Maybe this was a preview of what awaits him at Maccabi Tel Aviv in the upcoming EuroLeague season. And maybe, just maybe, there was room once again to try pairing him with Itay Segev, allowing him to return to the more comfortable power forward role especially during the minutes when Tomer Ginat was resting.

We’ve got our own NBA star in Deni Avdija and day by day, Ariel Beit Halachmi is discovering just how exposed he is whenever he plays without him. There’s no need for many words—just take a look at the group stage top scorers:

1. Luka Dončić – 32.4
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo – 27.7
3. Lauri Markkanen – 25.4
4. Deni Avdija – 24.4

So how should we feel about the past week? Honestly, it was a great group stage. Let’s skip the name-dropping because we’ve all been living this tournament since the start and there’s no point in going through the list. Maybe that’s the difference right there: the Israel National Team is back to enjoying itself, back to entertaining, back to thrilling, back to capturing the attention of the fans, back to being the lead story on the news even in a country at war. That’s no small thing and it shouldn’t be taken for granted.

It’s important. It guarantees that no matter how this tournament ends, it will leave a good taste in one’s mouth. A tournament that brought pride amidst the hatred around us. One that carved out a moment in our hearts that we’ll remember and talk about even 20 years from now.

But to turn this into a great, rare, wonderful, even crazy tournament, or all of the above, we just need one more win. “Just.”

Greece. Giannis Antetokounmpo. Kostas Sloukas. Tyler Dorsey. Vassilis Spanoulis. So many spicy angles to this matchup. Who knows what will happen. Who even gave us a chance before the game against France? Even we didn’t give ourselves one. All that’s left is to believe.