Deni Avdija, Israel Win EuroBasket 2025 Prep Games vs. Greece, Cyprus

In preparation for EuroBasket 2025 later this summer, Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija and the Israel national team defeated Cyprus and Greece in two tune-up games over the weekend.

Facing a Greece team without NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo on Sunday, Israel pulled away in the second half to win 75-58. Avdija tied teammate Roman Sorkin for a game-high 16 points, shooting an efficient 6-8 from the field and 1-3 on 3s in 24 minutes. He also added six rebounds and three assists, but coughed up eight turnovers. For the Oregon Duck fans out there, former U of O star Tyler Dorsey scored a team-high 14 points for Greece.

Israel had a much easier time the day before, cruising past Cyprus for a 109-69 win on Saturday. Avdija produced 12 points, two rebounds and two assists while shooting 5-11 from the field in 23 minutes. He had a rough 0-6 shooting performance from beyond the arc, but Avdija’s three turnovers jumped out less on the stat sheet compared to the Greece game.

The two wins brought Israel’s record to 3-1 in EuroBasket 2025 tune-up games. Israel defeated Georgia 76-66 in its first matchup on Aug. 4. Then Israel lost 93-81 to Estonia and former Rip City Remix star Henri Drell on Aug. 5. The box scores from those games couldn’t be found on the web after an admirable search effort by this writer. However, it could be found that Avdija scored 12 points against Georgia.

Avdija and Israel play one more tune-up game against Montenegro next Sunday. The main event, EuroBasket 2025, will take place from Aug. 27 to Sept. 14. Israel is in Group D for the international tournament, along with Iceland, France, Slovenia, Poland and Belgium.