An athletic and talented roster, along with a comfortable draw give Israel a chance to dream of the Quarter-Finals.

This will be Israel's 9th appearance in a row in the top stage of European basketball. In the last two previous rounds the team had to go through the Additional Qualifying Round, but this time their ticket was punched much earlier, but grabbing it was anything but easy. Israel earned the ticket right

Yaniv Green

before the door was slammed on their chances and by single points to earn a better goal coefficient. They needed to beat the Czech Republic by a huge margin (98-61) and hope for good results in the other groups. The stars lined up for Israel that night and for the first time since 2003 Israel had a whole year to plan their EuroBasket journey.

A silver medal in 1979 was their best achievement, but that unique experience was a stunt of a team that in their other 23 appearances reached the fifth spot just once. Israel's big hope is to reach the Quarter-Finals and wish for the best there, but that doesn't happen often anymore as it did in 2003 when they wrote their top finish in 26 years with a spot in the Quarter-Finals.

Between 1983 and today, other than the worset ever tournament (15th place in 1993) and the unique 2003 campaign, Israel had always finished between the 9th and 11th spots. Actually, even in the youth categories, Israel developed a talent to win a single, but most crucial, game in the Preliminary round to escape from the very bottom. Two years ago the giant team of Serbia reached a win-or-go home game against Israel on the last day of the Preliminary Round and was shocked to their worst standings in history by the underdog team of Coach Sherf. This year the game against F.Y.R. of Macedonia on day two is targeted as the key game in Tel Aviv, exactly as happened in the 1999 EuroBasket when Israel beat the Macedonians 64-62 in the same stage.

Head Coach Zvi Sherf

The draw seems reasonable, especially with the pairing group in the next stage, and the absences of some of the opponents gives reason for optimism. The middle-Eastern team plans to hunt for a spot among the top eight, and behind closed doors some even mention Turkey 2010 as a possible goal. The Qualifying Round proved that luck has a close relationship with Israel, so don't overlook that aspect.

No other coach in the competition has been in more EuroBaskets than Zvika Sherf. This will be his eighth in the last 22 years. The veteran coach continues to project his big heart and dedication on his team. After former captain Meir Tapiro retired from the national team at the age of 34, Sherf will have to use some of his big experience on his players as well, as they might lack some in that department.

Nevertheless, Israel isn't a young team, but a group of leading players in the prime ages of 24-29. Two Israeli U20 teams won silver medals in this decade - 2000 and 2004. The 2004 squad is represented by the current Euroleague stars Yotam Halperin and Lior Eliyahu in addition to Maccabi's Raviv Limonad, and the 2000 medallists send to this squad Tal Burstein, Yaniv Green and Moshe Mizrakhi. The first five are the core of this team and expected to carry them. Among the five the real difference maker could be Burstein. The tall guard, who was a starter on the glorious Maccabi Tel Aviv team that won back-to-back Euroleague titles, and the one who nailed the big buzzer-beater in 2003 to spring Israel to the Quarter-Finals, spent most of the last three years on the bench due to two difficult injuries. EuroBasket 2009 will be his chance to prove he's fit and in shape once more. A good-old version of Burstein will make a big difference for Israel.

Yotam Halperin

Israel can put a very athletic line-up on the floor, despite the fact that it's the first time that no naturalized player is on the squad since 1999. A line-up with Halperin, Limonad, Burstein, Eliyahu and Green can match up athletically with almost any team, but they could get even stronger should NBA draft pick Omri Casspi join the side. Casspi might decide to focus on preparing himself for the upcoming season when he'll become the first ever Israeli in the NBA. With the young talent Israel's ambitions will become easier to reach.

Even without Casspi the back ups of the Israeli team are key contributors. Guy Pnini of Maccabi is a combo forward that will be a nightmare for any player coach Sherf will assign him to. Mizrakhi is another defensive specialist who can harm from the arc. Veteran bigs like Ido Koziakro and Amit Tamir will add size (Tamir) and toughness (Kozikaro) while the back court will see some rising youngsters in the likes of Gal Mekel and/or Yogev Okhayon who will try to show their great finish for the season in the Israeli league can translate for a good EuroBasket debut.