shows on Friday 16.9. the semifinals of the European basketball championships. Poland–France at 6 p.m. and Germany–Spain at 9:30 p.m.
Poland was a complete opponent against Finland in the opening group of the European Basketball Championships. Susijengi won the match with a margin of 30 points, 89–59.
It hasn’t weighed on the Poles in the playoff stage. On Wednesday, Poland caused the second big surprise of the playoffs by knocking out reigning European champions Slovenia in the quarterfinals. The final scores were 90–87 for Poland (29–26, 29–13, 6–24, 26–24).
Already in the quarterfinals, a giant bang was seen, when Italy knocked out Serbia, which was one of the biggest championship favorites.
All the biggest NBA stars of the European Championships are out of the medal games: Serbia Nikola JokicFinland Lauri Markkanenof Greece Giannis Antetokounmpo and most recently Slovenia Luka Doncic. Of course, NBA glory can be found in the semi-final teams, for example the French one Rudy Gobert’s in terms of.
Poland defended Doncic, the 23-year-old Dallas Mavericks superstar, really hard. At 201 centimeters and over a hundred kilograms, Doncic is a very versatile and highly skilled playmaker and shooter, especially for his size.
Doncic led Slovenia to the 2017 European Championship at just 18 years old. After the 2018 NBA Draft, Doncic was dubbed “the most talented international player of all time” by the famous basketball magazine Slam.
In the NBA, Doncic needed only 159 games to reach the 4,000-point mark. They had only broken it faster Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal.
Doncic got a spike in his back, but didn’t explain: “I let my team down”
In the EC tournament, after the quarterfinals, Doncic is fourth in the tournament in points per game statistics. Doncic scored 26 points per game. Above are Alexander Vezenkov (26.8), Markkanen (27.9) and Antetokounmpo (29.3). Bulgarian Vezenkov’s sky ended in the first group, others in the quarterfinals.
Poland held Doncic to 14 points – the fewest of the tournament. In addition, Doncic had no less than 6 turnovers in the Poland match and another Slovenian NBA defender, representing the Chicago Bulls For Goran Dragic 5.
Especially in the second quarter, Doncic was very frustrated with his team’s play, his own performances, and Poland’s tough tactics. In the first five minutes of the second quarter, Doncic had two turnovers, he missed two layup attempts and a three. Frustrated and holding his back, Doncic was replaced.
In the video below, you can see how much trouble Doncic was in in the second quarter.
In the last quarter, Doncic received three fouls and also a technical foul after claiming a step foul, when AJ Slaughter deflected him and hit the basket.
Doncic broke Poland’s hero, Mateusz Ponitka, with 3:02 left on the clock, picked up his fifth foul and flew out of the match. At that point, Slovenia was losing by four points.
– Congratulations to Poland. They played an amazing game. We didn’t come into the match the way we wanted or with the energy we needed. I played terribly and let my team down, Doncic granted after the match (you switch to another service) setting himself up.
Watch the video below to see the fouls Doncic received in the fourth quarter.
Doncic sank only 33 percent of his shots (2-of-7 2-pointers and 3-of-8 threes). Doncic made one of four shots from the free throw line.
At the press conference, Doncic was asked if he was physically one hundred percent fit. Doncic said he got a spike of anesthesia in the third quarter.
– I wasn’t in 100% shape. I’ve had some problems in this tournament. But that’s no reason. I played horribly, I let my team down and I let my whole country cheer us on.
The head coach who has been piloting Slovenia since 2020 Aleksander Sekulic stated that Poland played “a hell of a match”.
– Big credit to our team for fighting in the second half. The third quarter was amazing, we gave everything on the field. We made some crucial mistakes and the Poles sank some tough baskets.
A dazzling and historic line of statistics from Ponitka
Poland’s back player, 198-centimeter Mateusz Ponitka, was unstoppable against Slovenia. He had a triple-double: 26 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists.
Against Finland, Ponitka was left with 8 points, although he was still Poland’s best scorer.
Ponitka in the quarterfinals was supported above all by guard AJ Slaughter, who scored 16 points, and Michal Sokolowski.
According to the official Twitter account of the European Championship, Ponitka’s triple double is only the third in European Championship history since 1995. Before 1995, assists, steals and blocks were not recorded in the books of the International Basketball Federation. Since assists have been recorded, before Ponitka, Croatia had succeeded in the triple-double Toni Kukoc 1995 and Romania Andrei Mandache 2017.
According to the Eurohoops basketball website (you will be redirected to another service) Ponitka’s triple-double is the fourth in European Championship history, as the website in question has taken Croatia into account Stojan Vrankovic and 1993. All in all – a wonderful achievement for the Polish star and even more so in a playoff match.
– We were ready for this to be a tough game. I have to admit that I was surprised by how brilliantly we played in the first half. We led by more than 20 points against the defending champion, Ponitka wondered after the match.
29-year-old Ponitka played the previous seasons in Russia for Zenit. In the summer, he signed a contract in Italy, with Reggiana’s team.
– He played amazingly. I’m not surprised, I’ve played against him a couple of times, he’s a great player and a great leader. He’s probably an NBA-type player, but I’m not a general manager, Doncic praised Poland’s number one star.
In the second quarter, Poland led by as many as 23 points, and at halftime Poland led by 19 points.
Like Spain against Finland on Tuesday, became the pre-favorite for the second period as if reborn. Slovenia found its shot, took the third quarter crushingly 24-6 and got within a point.
In the last quarter, Slovenia took the lead, but Poland was able to hold on and take the last five minutes, led by Slaughter and Ponitka.
shows on Friday 16.9. the semifinals of the European basketball championships. Poland–France at 6 p.m. and Germany–Spain at 9:30 p.m.
Updated at 13:58: Updated Ponitka’s triple-double, i.e. according to the official account of the European Championships, the third triple-double in history, according to some sources, the fourth.
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