Slovenia's U20 basketball team defeats Israel for second championship win

Slovenia's U20 national basketball team has achieved its second consecutive win at the European Championship held in Ljubljana, triumphing over Israel with a score of 90-77.

Following their earlier victory against the Czech Republic by 23 points, the Slovenian team demonstrated another strong performance at the Stožice Arena. The team, coached by Danijel Radosavljević, has set high ambitions for the home tournament. This generation has previously secured bronze medals at the 2024 European Championship in Finland and the 2025 World Championship in Switzerland.

Slovenia will play one more group stage match against Romania on Monday at 6:30 PM. Romania is considered the easiest opponent in Group D, having lost to Israel by ten points and to the Czech Republic 93-66. The knockout stage, starting with the round of 16 on Wednesday after a rest day, will see Slovenia cross over with Group C, where Belgium is currently the only team without a win.

Approximately 1200 spectators at Stožice Arena witnessed a determined and mature performance from the home team. All 12 players saw game time, with only Mark Ciperle failing to score. Urban Kroflič led the scoring with 17 points and added 10 rebounds, while Lovro Lapajne contributed 13 points, shooting perfectly from three-point range. Aljaž Menić and Lovro Faganel each scored 12 points.