The Israel National Team is less than 24 hours away from opening up their 2025 Eurobasket campaign when they tip-off against Iceland on Thursday at 3pm (Israel time) in Katowice, Poland. Following the blue-and-white’s final practice, Head Coach Ariel Beit Halachmi and captain Tomer Ginat spoke to the assembled media at the Spodek Arena as they spoke about their first test that can set the tone for the entire competition.

“This is our first game and we’ve had really good practices so far. We’re very excited for this game and ready,” Beit Halachmi began.

As for Yam Madar who has been nursing a knee injury for a number of months and didn’t complete the practice due to stomach issues the bench boss said, “Yam is here and with us, ready to play and go out there like the rest of the team.”

Ginat also spoke about Madar, “Yam is a special guy. I think everyone here and everyone who knows him understands that he’s special. We have no doubt he will play—and play well—and be one of our leaders.”

This will be Beit Halachmi’s first major tournament as the head coach and he’s excited to get started, “First of all, the whole event here is very exciting, and being the coach of this national team is something very big for me, but I’m in the moment and not looking sideways. At the end of the day, we’re talking about basketball, and as big as this event is, I’m just doing my job. Like I said before, it’s very emotional for me.”

Ginat as well will be captaining the team for the first time at a big competition and shared his thoughts, “As the coach said, we’re very excited to start the tournament tomorrow. We’ve been waiting for this tournament for a long time. I think we all understand that we have a great opportunity to do something big together, and we can’t wait to get started.”

“First of all, I don’t think it’s just me. We have a broad group of players here who’ve known each other for many years, who are leaders in their personalities and on their club teams throughout their careers. What makes this current national team unique is our togetherness, how much fun we have with each other. I think anyone who spent time with us this summer during the preparations, the travel, and the practices saw how much fun we have and how much we enjoy being with each other—and that’s the last thing we need to worry about. I truly believe we are really, really united, and I have no doubt it’ll show from the first second of the game tomorrow.”

Beit Halachmi also talked about some of the issues that he is not concerned about once the Eurobasket begins, “I’m not worried about the issue of shooting or our preparation—that’s what the preparation is for. The problem of rebounding is definitely something we’re emphasizing, mainly the awareness. We’ve constantly talked about being more physical. I’m sure we’ll be much better in both of those areas.”

Ginat also spoke about some of the areas that Israel will need to concentrate on in order to be successful, “First of all, I think we’ve been emphasizing this since preparation began. We’re improving game by game, doing our best to be more aware and do a much better job. At the end of the day, we’re more talented offensively—that’s a fact—but we’re putting a lot of focus and working very hard to defend as well as we can. We have excellent defenders on this team, including size at the guard positions, which is not typical for most teams, and we’ll come tomorrow ready to defend with heart and pride—and to win the game. By the way, in our last opening game, we conceded a lot—but we scored a little more.”

Wearing the blue-and-white is no doubt an honor and a responsibility Ginat said, “I think we talk about this all the time—representing the country is the biggest honor one can ask for. Especially in the last two years, with everything going on in the country, putting on that jersey with ‘Israel’ on the chest gives you goosebumps every time. We’re very proud to be here and to represent our country. We feel the support from the fans back home and the excitement for this tournament, and we’re excited along with them. We’ll do our best to bring pride and honor. We have a national mission which is to bring pride to the country and the people. That’s much bigger than anything else.

Beit Halachmi offered his final thoughts on Thursday’s opponent, “Every game is very tough, and the first game is always tough. We’ve watched them—it’s not going to be an easy game for us tomorrow, but I can say we know them and trust our guys. I have a lot of confidence in our team. We need to take care of certain details regarding their team, and I’ll say it again, we are ready.”