Ashkenazi at basketball game (file)
Ashkenazi at basketball game (file)IDF website

The IDF Basketball Championship Finals will take place Wednesday, after an eight year hiatus. Twelve men's teams and 12 women's teams from all branches and commands of the military participated in the preceding tournaments this year. The men's finals will be between the Air Force and Northern Command teams, and the women's finals will pit Human Resources Branch against the Intelligence Branch.

The championship games will start at 4:00 p.m. at Rishon LeTzion's Beit Maccabi arena. The audience will be made up of soldiers and the game will not be open to the general public.

After the final games, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi and the Commander of the Ground Forces, Major General Shlomo Turjeman, will present the winners with their trophy cups.

In a special show game, the IDF General Staff will play against an all-star old-timers' team.

The IDF team will be headed by Chief of Staff Ashkenazi, and include his deputy, Major General Benny Ganz, Ground Forces Commander Turjeman, IAF Chief Major General Ido Nechushtan, Head of Central Command Major General Avi Mizrachi, Head of Operations Department Major General Tal Russo and other senior officers. Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Pini Gershon will coach the team consisting of current IDF staff.

The military brass will face a team of all-star old-timers, including former national team stars Oded Katash, Doron Jamchi, Mickey Berkovich, Doron Shefer, Shimon Amsalem and others.