Omri epic

BASKETBALL Israel, spurred on by the superb Omri Casspi and Gal Mekel, battled bravely, but in the end were defeated by Montenegro in an epic clash in the EuroBasket 2015 second qualifying round.

The Israeli side were the host team in the game, but the match was played in Nicosia, Cyprus .

Nine times the l ead changed hands in a ding-dong encounter, but with seconds remaining in extra time the Balkan side snatched a 100-97 victory. Coach Erez Edelstein said: “We lost too many balls and missed free shots.”