Isle of Man beat Israel 89:88 in the MT20WC European sub-regional qualifiers Group C on Thursday evening. The hosts took all three points from the contest, moving level on points with their visitors after one game fewer.
The match settled on a single-point margin, a result that extended Isle of Man's recent form while ending Israel's run of two defeats. The hosts had won their previous outing 177:88 against Bulgaria before this narrow victory, while Israel's last two games had ended in losses to Germany and the Czech Republic.
Both sides sat third in the group standings, though the table tells a slightly different story. Isle of Man carried five points from three matches, while Israel sat on four after four games, meaning their path to the next stage remained tighter.
The result does not change the group hierarchy yet, but the gap between the two teams narrows. Israel now faces one more game to match the hosts' points total, and anything less than a win would leave them behind on head-to-head comparisons.