The cadet national team defeated Italy and finished in 13th place at the European Championship

The Israel cadet national team (under 16) concluded the European Championship today (Saturday) with a nice 58:53 victory over the Italian national team. The players of Daniela Reuven recorded a second victory over the Italians and finished the tournament with a bittersweet taste, as although they are ranked 13th, because Bulgaria (which finished last in the tournament) will host the championship next summer, the blue-and-whites ultimately relegated to Division B.

Italy started better and led 6:2. Michal Abudaram, who scored 8 of the team's first 11 points, turned the score for Israel to 11:8. The blue-and-whites continued to increase the gap until the end of the first quarter, completing a 14:5 run on the way to 19:13 after 10 minutes of basketball.

The Israeli attack struggled to produce points at the start of the second quarter, but the Italians simply failed to take advantage of this. A layup by Abudaram broke a streak of over five minutes without points for Israel - 21:15. Eden Polls and Tahel Dugan came off the bench and raised the energy, and two points in transition by Roni Tzalal set a double-digit lead - 29:17. Two shots from beyond the arc by Dugan before halftime gave Israel a record lead of 16 - 37:21 at the break.

The players of Daniela Reuven came out sharp for the second half as well, Abudaram and Dugan ensured that the Israeli team continued to lead safely, and a three-pointer by Polls increased the Israeli lead to over 20 points - 47:26. A 10:2 run by Italy towards the end of the third quarter put the team under a little pressure, but accurate free throws by Abudaram stopped the momentum - 51:38 with 10 minutes left to play.

Italy continued its good momentum and reduced the gap to only 10, Noam Rozmarin scored a big basket and gave Israel its first points in the decisive quarter - 53:41. The Israeli team, which had to manage the last six minutes without star Abudaram after she fouled out, saw the Italians narrow the gap to only eight. Israel's attack stalled in those minutes and produced only three points in the first seven minutes of the quarter.

Luckily, Italy did not shine on the offensive side either and the team maintained a distance of three possessions - 54:46, 02:30 minutes to the end. Tzalal was the one who took responsibility in the absence of Abudaram, a big basket of hers returned Israel to a double-digit lead and finally broke the Italians' comeback dream. In the end, Israel wins 58:53 and finishes the European Championship in 13th place.

Scored for Israel: Michal Abudaram (8 rebounds and 6 steals) 19 points, Tahel Dugan (4 rebounds and 4 steals) 14, Roni Tzalal (3 assists) 13, Eden Polls (2/2 from the field) 5, Noam Rozmarin 4, Dafna Winterfeld 2, Ella Maoz Barda 1.