Israel U16 vs Belgium U16

Israel seized control from the opening tip, racing to a 24-8 lead in the first quarter — a 16-point advantage built on sharp inside finishing and active defence. The second quarter followed a similar pattern, as Israel outscored Belgium 22-15 to carry a commanding 46-23 lead into the half.

Belgium refused to fold quietly. Youssef Zagdoud, who had scored 37 points in the previous classification game against Slovenia on 14 August, sparked a third-quarter revival. Belgium won the period 26-18, trimming the deficit to 64-49 and briefly stirring hope of a comeback. But Israel's response was swift and clinical. Sela orchestrated the offence in the final period, setting up teammates and scoring when needed as Israel closed with a 21-19 edge in the fourth quarter to seal the 17-point victory.

The game was effectively decided inside the first ten minutes. Israel's 24-8 first-quarter blitz — built on 69.1% two-point shooting for the game and perfect free-throw shooting — gave Belgium a deficit too steep to erase. Belgium's third-quarter push cut the lead to 15, but they never got closer than that.

Maor Sela (Israel) — Player of the Match. The 15-year-old Maccabi Tel Aviv centre produced one of the standout individual performances of the entire tournament: 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for a triple-double. He shot 10-of-14 from the field (71.4%) and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line, adding 2 steals and 1 block to finish with a game-high efficiency rating of 40. Sela joins Ricky Rubio, Dario Saric and Usman Garuba in the exclusive group of players who have recorded triple-doubles in U16 EuroBasket history.

Youssef Zagdoud (Belgium) — The point guard from Bavi Vilvoorde kept Belgium competitive with 20 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds, though he needed 14 field-goal attempts to get there (4/14, 28.6%). He drew fouls effectively, hitting 11 of 14 free throws and adding 4 steals.

Israel's supporting cast — Beyond Sela, Israel shot 55% from the field overall, including 69.1% on two-point attempts, compared to Belgium's 35% and 40% respectively.

The boxscore tells a story of efficiency versus volume. Israel's 55% field-goal percentage reflected ruthless inside finishing (69.1% on twos) that built the insurmountable lead early. Belgium's 35% shooting highlighted their struggles around the rim (40% on twos) despite generating enough attempts to stay alive. The free-throw disparity was significant: Belgium got to the line far more often (26 attempts to Israel's 6) but converted just 65.4% (17/26), leaving nine points on the floor. Those misses killed any realistic chance of completing the comeback in the third quarter. Israel, by contrast, went a perfect 6-for-6 from the stripe.

This game was a straight relegation decider. The Classification Game for 13th place determined the last relegation spot — Israel's victory secured their Division A status for the next U16 EuroBasket cycle. Belgium finished 14th and were relegated alongside the 15th- and 16th-placed teams, Slovenia and Georgia.

Across seven tournament games, Sela averaged 16.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists on 56.3% shooting. Belgium's Zagdoud finished as the tournament's second-leading scorer with 22.1 points per game, adding 5.4 assists and 3.1 rebounds per contest.

Israel were the better team from the opening whistle and earned their Division A survival with a ruthless first-half performance that Belgium could not match. Sela's triple-double — the second of the tournament after Romania's Sebastian-Petru Lapuste's 34-point, 10-rebound, 10-steal effort against Lithuania — places him in elite U16 company. For Belgium, the defensive frailties that conceded 46 first-half points ended their Division A stay.