History shows that it is very difficult to beat the same opponent twice with a difference of a few days.
For the Israeli national team, the match tonight (Thursday) against Romania at Shlomo Group Hall was the last preparatory match for the World Cup qualifiers against Sweden, but also a great mental test, which she successfully passed.
After the impressive 61:112 victory over the same opponent just 48 hours ago, Guy Goodes's apprentices came up to compete in front of the supportive home crowd with the clear goal of continuing the wonderful momentum they have gained in the preparatory games for the European Championship so far, and increasing the impressive winning streak to five with 61:105.
On the other hand, the guest from Romania came to the match after the severe handicap she suffered with a painful loss by 51 points, and with motivation and the intention to regain some of her self-confidence, in preparation for the continuation of her national tasks.
A few hours before the game, Goodes received good news in the form of the return of the national team's star, Danny Avdia, who recovered from an illness he had been suffering from for the past few days, and returned to the national team, to the delight of the crowd that came to see him play again in the national uniform.
The chain of injuries and absences that hindered the team's performance did not go beyond the last preparatory game for the World Cup qualifiers, when this time the missing center on duty was Hapoel Tel Aviv center Idan Zalmanson, who was not feeling well and was not registered in the game form, alongside Gal Mekel and Tomer Ginat who were rested.
The Romanians, who did not intend to serve as a backdrop for the Israeli team to play another game, opened the game with enthusiasm and with the help of minutes of good defense and a lack of concentration in the host's attack, they finished the first quarter with a six-point lead.
Guy Goodes' players changed their attitude, got out of the early shock and came up with completely different energies for the second quarter, in which there was only one team on the floor in the Shlomo Hall.
Defensive determination of the Israeli team in blue, which stopped the Romanian team for eight minutes without a field goal, along with good minutes in the attack of Yam Medar and Roman Sorkin who took command, took the host to a 0:24 run that turned the game around and gave the Israeli team a promising double digit lead of 17 points at half time
The third quarter opened as the second quarter ended.
The host did everything she could, presented loose basketball that was fun to watch, tightened the defense and went on a run that increased the difference to 32 points and decided the match.
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