Israel’s under-20 women’s basketball team makes history with first European final

EuroBasket squad already notched a first by reaching semis; 78-69 victory over Belgium sets up squad for championship game against France on Sunday

The Israeli women’s under-20 basketball team reached the finals in the FIBA EuroBasket tournament for the first time ever, after beating Belgium 78-69 on Saturday.

The team will face France in the final on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. (Israel time) in the European championship tournament, hosted by Lithuania.

Going into the finals, Israel’s Gali Raviv was top of the leaderboard for points per game with 28, along with the top efficiency per game with 31.7 and the highest number of assists, with 7.2.

“History!” wrote Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar in a post to his X account congratulating team on its success.

“Good Luck!” he wrote.

Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition

by email and never miss our top stories

By signing up, you agree to the terms

The semifinal match was also a first for the Israeli team. They beat Poland 80-79 in a comeback victory to secure their place in the semifinals.

ISRAEL ARE HEADING TO THEIR FIRST EVER #U20EUROBASKET FINAL! ✨ pic.twitter.com/O5rySuMYgb

— FIBA Women's EuroBasket (@EuroBasketWomen) July 11, 2026

Two years ago the Israeli squad came fourth in the European championship, the best placing ever for the women’s team.

That result earned the team a place in the world under-19 championships in 2025, where they finished ninth.

Israel only returned to the top tier Division A in 2022 and since then has placed no higher than sixth in the European championship.

If you’d like to comment, join

The Times of Israel Community.