By Rigas Dardalis/ dardalis@eurohoops.net
Slovenians (2-1) had Goran Dragic as their leader and Zoran Dragic as his brother’s co-pilot on 84-77 against Italy. This is the first defeat for the “azzuri” who now are under Slovenia, in case they find themselves together at the standings.
The game was close at the first half, with Slovenia getting everything from Goran Dragic, the same time the Italians –like in every other game of this Eurobasket- they got everything from the perimeter. Simone Pianigiani tried but couldn’t find the way to stop the Phoenix Suns’ guard, or Bostjan Nachbar.
Slovenia’s good rhythm in offence together with some great defense plays from Mirza Begic, allowed them to end the first half with +6 (45-39). Italy got the chance to reach to 75-72, two minutes to the end but the loss of some –defensive- rebounds, together with the fact that Marko Bellineli wasn’t exactly on his best day, allowed to Slovenia to keep walking. And when Goran Dragic scored 5 straight points everything was over. After this result in Group F standings, Croatia, Slovenia and Italy have a 2-1 record, while Greece, Spain and Finland are at 1-2.