Israel Men's National Under-16 Basketball Team

The Israel men's national under-16 basketball team is the country's representative in the FIBA U16 European Championship and is commonly known in Israel as the cadet team. In 2025, it competed in Division A in Tbilisi, Georgia, where it faced Turkey, Estonia, and Lithuania during the group stage.[7]

Recent tournaments have seen Israel pursue two related objectives: advancing through the knockout rounds and retaining its place in Division A. Israel reached the quarterfinals in 2022 and 2024, while its 2025 classification campaign ended with the team maintaining its top-tier status.[8][6]

European championships for men's youth national basketball teams began in 1964 with the under-18 competition. The under-16 men's championship was introduced in 1971 as part of the continent's expanding youth-national-team structure.[1]

The youth championships were generally staged every two years until 2003 and annually thereafter. The later introduction of divisions added promotion and relegation considerations to tournament placement.[1]

Tournament play includes a group phase followed by knockout and classification games. In 2025, Israel advanced from its group but lost 87–66 to Slovenia in the round of 16, sending it into the 9th–16th-place bracket and a series of games that determined whether it would remain in Division A.[9]

A subsequent 70–66 loss to host Georgia left Israel needing to win both remaining games to avoid relegation.[10] Israel responded by defeating Finland 72–71 and Estonia 91–70, thereby retaining its Division A place for the following year.[5][6]

Israel's youth national teams serve as a foundation for the country's senior basketball program, giving young players experience in international competition.[1] The under-16 program has featured players who later progressed to higher levels, including Emanuel Sharp, who represented Israel in 2019 and was selected 45th in the 2026 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings.[2]

The team's recent results have also demonstrated competitive continuity at the top European youth level. Israel reached consecutive quarterfinals in 2022 and 2024 and then preserved its Division A status through the 2025 classification games.[8][11]

Israel's 2022 Under-16 team reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 2006. The team secured Division A status for the following summer by defeating Serbia 94–86 in a crossover game, with Ben Saraf contributing 28 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists and Omer Mayer adding 20 points.[8]

In the fifth-place game, Israel defeated Italy 89–75. Saraf recorded 27 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists, while Uri Yair scored 24, Omer Mayer 14, and Ariel Sela recorded 13 points and 13 rebounds.[3] Fifth place was Israel's best finish in the competition since its bronze-medal performance in 1997.[3]

At the 2024 U16 European Championship, Israel advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Georgia 94–59, a result that also guaranteed the team's continued participation in Division A. Ari Amiel led Israel with 21 points and seven rebounds, while Shahar Drori scored 14 and Aviv Aronov contributed 11.[11]

Israel ultimately finished sixth after falling 86–63 to Italy in the fifth-place game. The tournament was considered successful because Israel had achieved its objective of reaching the quarterfinals.[4] Drori scored 15 points and David Moisis added 14 in the final contest.[4]

Israel traveled to Tbilisi, Georgia, for the 2025 FIBA U16 European Championship and was drawn into Group A alongside Turkey, Estonia, and Lithuania.[7] The squad was coached by Yehu Orland, with assistants Shay Lifshitz and Amit Rachmilovitz. The support staff included scout Dror Engel, conditioning coach Aviad Levi, physiotherapist Amit Malul, and team manager Sefi Tzuk.[7]

The twelve-man roster consisted of Eran Maoz, Eshal Lovintal, Eitan Zilberstein, Omri Orland, Aylon Sokolovsky, Ariel Aboulaf, Yehonatan Zilberstein, Tom Aronov, Yoav Paz, Alon Primer, Idan Sheffer, and Shalev Laderman.[7]

Israel opened the tournament with a 76–65 loss to Turkey. Omri Orland led the team with 17 points, Eshal Lovintal scored 14, and Aylon Sokolovsky added 11.[12] Israel also defeated Estonia 88–80 during the group stage before losing 87–66 to Slovenia in the round of 16 and dropping into the 9th–16th-place classification bracket.[5][9]

Israel then lost 70–66 to host Georgia despite overturning a 13-point deficit and briefly taking a five-point lead. Georgia closed the game with ten unanswered points, while Lovintal scored 22, Orland 15, and Tom Aronov 14 for Israel.[10]

Facing relegation, Israel rallied from ten points down to defeat Finland 72–71. Lovintal scored 28 points and made three three-pointers in the final three minutes, including the winning shot with approximately 17 seconds remaining.[5] Israel then defeated Estonia 91–70 to secure 13th place and remain in Division A. Sokolovsky scored 32 points with nine rebounds and made six of Israel's 13 three-pointers, while Orland added 14 points and Lovintal 13.[6]

Several players who represented the Under-16 team have attracted attention for their individual performances. Israeli-American guard Emanuel Sharp averaged 25 points per game for Israel at the 2019 FIBA U16 European Championship when he was 15 years old.[2]

During the 2025 championship, 15-year-old point guard Omri Orland was reported to be averaging 18 points, seven rebounds, and 3.2 assists.[13] Standing 1.90 meters tall, Orland had previously represented Israel's under-14 team, developed through the Hapoel Emek Hefer youth system, and served as co-captain of the under-16 squad.[13]

Before the championship, Orland averaged 18.2 points per game at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Skopje, North Macedonia, where Israel finished sixth. He was also selected as one of the Israeli delegation's flag bearers.[13] Moshik Nissan, who had coached Orland for two years, described him as highly coachable and possessing an exceptional ability to understand the game.[13]

Orland's family connection to Israeli basketball spans three generations. His father, Yehu Orland, is a former player and Bnei Herzliya head coach who coached Israel's Under-16 team in 2025, while his grandfather, Barry Leibowitz, is a Hapoel Tel Aviv legend.[13] In 2019, when Omri was nine, Leibowitz predicted that his grandson would have the combination of "a Steph Curry with the height of Luka Doncic."[13]