Polish women's basketball team beat Israel 75-64 in Riga; coach flags pre-match delays

Poland's women's basketball team beat Israel 75-64 in Riga. The game, played on 11 November 2026, was part of qualifying for Women EuroBasket 2027. For most of the match, Poland struggled against lower-ranked opponents. They only found their rhythm in the fourth quarter, winning the final ten minutes 26-9 and finishing the game on a 17-2 run.

The style of play was not impressive, but the win keeps the team on track for the European Championship. Head coach Karol Kowalewski said briefly that there had been "ciężary", or difficulties, in the game.

Pre-match delay and FIBA intervention

According to Kowalewski, the squad arrived at the venue about an hour later than planned. The journey was meant to take around ten minutes, and the coach blamed local celebrations in Latvia that the organiser had not told the team about. The squad's representatives tried to push back the start time, and the matter had to be raised with FIBA's headquarters. FIBA ultimately agreed to a 20-minute postponement. The coach added that the Israeli side had not been keen on that arrangement.

The pre-match briefing lasted two minutes, and the team barely shot during warm-up.

Key players

Klaudia Wnorowska was Poland's best player, scoring 21 points, the most in the game. Kowalewski said she had returned from an injury motivated and in good form, but her minutes had to be managed because of a muscle problem. Debutant point guard Malina Piasecka hit two three-pointers in the closing stages.

What comes next

Poland travel to Podgorica, where they play Montenegro's women's team on Saturday 14 November.