Sacramento Kings hardworking forward Omri Casspi is keeping himself busy these days as he prepares his body and game for the Israeli national squad seeing action in the forthcoming FIBA-EuroBasket 2011 in Lithuania in August. Israel will play the eliminations in the tough group B together with Italy, France, Latvia, Germany and Serbia, who are all expected to be led by top NBA players. Israel’s best ever finish in EuroBasket was a silver medal won in 1979. During the last EuroBasket competitions in 2009, the Israelis ended up a dismal 15th place. The team will pin its hopes for a better finish this year in starters 6-9 small forward Casspi, 6-9 center Yaniv Green (Maccabi Tel Aviv), 6-9 power Lior Eliyahu (Maccabi Tel Aviv), 6-5 shooting guard Yotam Halperi (Olympiacos B.C.) and 6-2 point guard Yogev Ohayon (Hapoel Jerusalem). Israel, which is currently ranked number 27 by FIBA, will be coached by veteran mentor Arik Shivek, who replaces longtime national coach Zvi Sherf. Casspi says he is presently preparing for the grind with personal training and is looking forward to a successful EuroBasket stint, according to Israeli News.
“Now I'm preparing for the team, a month of personal training and weight room. I'm planning to join the national team in top form. I hope to success with the team in the European championship and with Sacramento in the next season.”
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