At the end of two days of the 3x3 European Basketball Championship at the Sultan's Pool in Jerusalem, the Israeli men's and women's national teams finished their games in the championship with two losses each. About 100 Israeli fans cheered on the teams. Sports Minister Miki Zohar and basketball legend Pini Gershon, who serves as a consultant and developer of men's basketball in the basketball association, and also as a professional manager of all Israel's men's basketball teams, were present.
Last night the women lost against Italy and Germany in the group stage but finished in third place and did not qualify for the quarterfinals. Israel opened against Italy and lost 18-22 in a close match, then faced Germany in a direct battle for promotion and also went down defeated 13-15 after another close match.
Today the men started the game against the Austrian team, when the Austrians very quickly opened a gap on the way to a crushing victory 10:21. In the second game, the Israeli team faced the Serbian team, whose 5x5 team advanced to the semi-finals of the World Championship last night. The Serbs were on the verge of victory when they led 14:20, but the Israeli team almost completed a comeback when they reduced it to 20:19, before Serbia sealed it with a basket from a distance that made it 22:19.
3x3 basketball is played on one basket, with a close shot worth one point compared to two in regular basketball, and a long shot worth two points instead of three. The 24 second attack clock has been cut in half, with each attack lasting 12 seconds. Each team has four players, with one player sitting on the bench at any given time.
