Israelis went into a frenzy of jubilation after their national basketball team defeated the world champion Yugoslavians by a one-point margin in the European championship semifinals at Gorizia, Italy last night. The explosion of pent-up emotions that sent cheering fans racing through the streets here was attributable, in part, to the suspense of the contest.
Until the last few seconds of the game, Yugoslavia was leading Israel 75-76. Then Miki Berkowitz, of the Tel Aviv Maccabi club scored two points in rapid succession to give Israel a 77-76 victory. It came after a severe disappointment the night before when the Israelis, who had been leading the French team by 14 points, lost at the final whistle by a score of 92-83. The dejected hoopsters were convinced that they would have to fight it out thereafter with other losing teams. But last night’s victory qualified the Israelis for the championship finals that begin in Torino tomorrow where Israel will play Italy. The biggest game will take place Sunday when the Israelis are matched against the Soviet team. (By Yitzhak Shargil).
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
