Cinemas were empty throughout Israel last night, theaters cancelled performances and at least one wedding party was reportedly postponed as virtually all Israelis were glued to their television sets, watching Israel beat the Soviet Union at basketball.
The Tel Aviv champion team beat the Moscow champion team (Central Sports Club of the Red Army) 85-74 in the first game of their two-game meet in Brussels in the European basketball championships. The second game is to be played tonight.
The two matches take place on neutral ground in Brussels as the Soviet team refused to entertain the Israelis in Moscow or come to Tel Aviv to play. They had acted similarly four years ago, when the Israelis also beat the Russians to go on and win the European championship.
Streets were completely deserted during the match, while the Israel Electric Corporation noted a six percent increase in electricity consumption as everybody stayed home with the lights and heating on.
Israel now stands in second place in the European listings, with more games to play and the possibility of winning the title again this year.
Premier Menachem Begin and Tel Aviv Mayor Shlomo Lahat cabled their congratulations to the Israel team.
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.
