Israel Virtually Secure EuroBasket Spot

Lior Eliyahu stood out with a triple-double of 18 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists

Israel had a slow start to their EuroBasket Qualification Round but on Saturday night looked to have done enough to reach next year's big tournament in Slovenia.

Arik Shivek's side won convincingly at home over the Slovak Republic, 106-73.

That result, coupled with Sweden's loss to Germany in Group B earlier in the day, has virtually assured the Israelis of advancing to Slovenia as, at worst, one of the four best third-place teams in the Qualifying Round.

In their game against Slovakia, Israel only led 49-42 at half-time but then outscored the visitors 32-8 in the third quarter to take a vice-like grip on the contest.

Six players ended up hitting double digits in points for Israel, with Omri Casspi and Lior Eliyahu pouring in 18 apiece.

Eliyahu also had 10 rebounds and 12 assists.

Alexander Tyus finished with 16 points and 11 boards for the winners.

Israel won the battle of the boards, 45-30, and shot 10 of 22 (45.5%) from the arc to just 37.9% (11 of 29) for the Slovakians.

Yogev Ohayon also had nine assists to go with his eight points for the victors.

For Israel not to make it to Slovenia, they would need to lose their last game against Serbia in Belgrade on Tuesday by 89 points or more, which would put them in fourth.

Even then, Israel could lose by that huge margin and still advance if Estonia do not win against Iceland in their clash.

Serbia will need to win to advance because if they do not and Estonia win, then the Serbians miss out on Slovenia.

Quotes Israel vs. Slovak Republic

Slovakia player Roman Vido:
"We played well in the first half, but after the break Israel played very good basketball and we had trouble to match their level. We followed what the coach said and tried to do our best but it was very difficult to get the win in this tough arena against a very good team."

Slovakia head coach Peter Balint:
"Congratulations to Israel. We started very well. We followed all the points we spoke about before the game, but in the second half I don't know what happened. We shot from bad positions and weren't as good in the rebound as in the first half. Israel moved the ball very well and scored a lot of easy points. That's the reason for the loss."

Israel player Yotam Halperin:
"I think the first half, especially the first minutes, weren't good. In the second half we did what we were supposed to do. Everybody played well today and that's the secret of this win tonight. On any night someone else can step up and this is our strength. Serbia must win in the last game and the game will be in a tough gym as Poinir but we will go there to win."

Israel head coach Arik Shivek:
"We were a little slow and hesitant in the first half. Maybe also a bit tensed. Towards the end of the first half we moved to a more defensive line up. It helped us finish with a good momentum. We played much better defense in the second half and scored easy points in fast breaks. We had tonight six players in double digits and that's exactly what I want to see from this team. We still have one more game to play and we will play it like any game. We open the champagne only after all games are played."