OKINAWA.
Slovenia! Doncic! There is no doubt about the biggest star of the basketball World Cup games to be played in Okinawa when the Slovenian bus turns into the arena of the Japanese paradise island.
The words and facial expressions of the locals say it all, how big the basketball star is when talking From Luka Dončić.
Many of the world’s best basketball players missed the games, but Dončić, who is currently in the top five, will be there.
And Dončić is not only participating, but also trying to bring Slovenia back to the medals. The ball player has been heralded as a great talent since his early teens, but he rose to the surface at the European Championship 2017. First in the first group in Helsinki and then in the follow-up games in Istanbul.
18-year-old Dončić dominated the back man’s plot together Goran Dragic with and led Slovenia to the European Championship. After that, he led Real Madrid to victory in the Euroleague, and he was voted the most valuable player of the final tournament as the youngest player of all time. After that, the NBA called and he rose to the elite of the world’s toughest basketball league.
However, Dončić has not been able to celebrate in the national team shirt for six years. Slovenia did not make it to the 2019 World Cup, in the 2021 Olympics, Slovenia first suffered a stinging semi-final loss to France, and Australia was stronger in the bronze medal game.
A year ago, at the European Championships, Slovenia led by Dončić unexpectedly lost to Poland in the quarterfinals. The superstar said after the match that he got an anesthetic spike in the middle of the match.
– I wasn’t in 100% shape. I’ve had some problems in this tournament. But that’s no reason. I played badly, I let my team down and let my whole country cheer us on,” Dončić described.
On Friday, Dončić got to try for revenge from the Tokyo Olympics two years ago, when Slovenia faced Australia in an important follow-on group game. Watching the basketball-enthusiastic Okinawa fans, it quickly became clear who was the crowd favorite.
The combination of Doncic and 77 was seen on many people’s backs. Mostly the NBA club Dallas in a shirt, but there were also Slovenian shirts.
Cellphone cameras also constantly pointed in Dončić’s direction from the stands during the warm-up.
When the game got going, Dončić showed off his great passing skills and led Slovenia to a 14-point runaway.
Complaining to the referee and finally a rude jab
On the other side of the coin, the Slovenian star also told the judges about his frustration with many whistles and received a technical foul at the beginning of the second period when he threw the ball to the other end after the whistle.
With only 12 minutes left in the match, Dončić already had three personal fouls.
During the six-minute change, Australia was only able to close the gap to five points before Dončić was already back on the field.
Right at the beginning of the second half, Australia’s hero Patty Mills caught Dončić’s fourth foul, so the threat of Slovenia’s freezing was there again. However, Slovenia was able to hold on to their lead despite Australia going four points behind.
The final nail was seen midway through the closing period when Dončić bluntly fended him off all game with his tight guard Josh Green’s throw.
– It was a really important game. We had to win this game by any means, Dončić said after the match at the press conference.
The Slovenian superstar was in a high-spirited mood after the win, as he was fiddling with his phone while the coach was commenting on the game next to him.
The number one in the points statistics of the World Cup also got to tease the judges.
– I see for the first time that a technical foul is caused by throwing the ball. I think every game someone does it at least once, Dončić said.
Slovenia’s other players proud
The general image of Slovenia playing is the so-called hero ball, where Dončić’s abilities are relied on a lot.
The others then play a secondary role in attacking play. Now Dončić’s teammates proudly told in interviews how they were able to play despite Dončić’s mistakes.
– We showed that we can succeed even without him. We other players know how to play too. We try to help Luka do his thing, but when a problem like this comes up, we can step up. That’s what we did today. I am proud of the team, Zoran Dragic your sum for Urheilu.
– We were able to show that we have a good team, even though Luka was in trouble. Australia tried to get Luka out of the game but everyone came forward, Mike Tobey in turn stated.
With the win, Slovenia secured its place in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. On Sunday, Slovenia will fight against Germany for the victory in the next group.
The quarter-final opponent comes from the group of surprises, where Latvia surprised the reigning world champion Spain on Friday. If Slovenia takes the victory in Okinawa in the next group, it can avoid the big favorite USA in the playoffs until the finals.
When Dončić was asked about the favorites and Slovenia’s chances of winning, the superstar hit the jargon switch.
– The United States and Canada are probably favorites. I don’t know where we end up. However, we give it our all every time. Now was a really important game. Everyone who went on the field gave one hundred percent today. That’s why we won, Dončić decided.
You can see the status of the blocks at this link.
On the app and on the website, you can see live highlights of Susijeng’s matches and Lauri Markkanen’s matches at the World Championships. Finland will play its last match of the Games on Saturday, September 2. at 10:30 a.m. against Venezuela. ‘s online World Championships are followed in this article.