With shooting guard Yotam Halperin struggling, Israel's national basketball team is looking for a way to recover from its loss in its EuroBasket opener.
With shooting guard Yotam Halperin struggling, Israel's national basketball team is looking for a way to recover from its loss in its EuroBasket opener earlier this week when it faces Estonia at home tomorrow.
After Halperin played 13 mediocre first-half minutes in Israel's 75-69 loss to Montenegro in Budocnost, head coach Arik Shivek inserted Raviv Limonad to start the third quarter. Limonad pressed well on defense and helped the team on fast breaks, scoring easy baskets in transition as the team turned a small deficit to a 17-point lead. But Shivek went with a taller lineup in the final quarter, playing Guy Pnini in the shooting guard position, and the team fell apart.
"Everyone knows how much I love Yotam, but he just wasn't producing," Shivek said on Wednesday.
Oded Katash, the assistant coach, said that Halperin in the number-two position has been one of the squad's strong points, but that Halperin - who was sidelined by injury - was not able to prepare properly for the qualifying tournament. "I believe we'll see the real Yotam yet in this tournament," he added.
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