Goran Dragic and Luka Doncic reunite to rout Croatia

By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net

Goran Dragic and Luka Doncic became teammates in an official game for the first time after Slovenia’s gold medal run in the EuroBasket 2017 and worked their magic in an impressive fashion.

Doncic had 21 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds while Dragic scored 19 points as Slovenia beat Croatia 97 – 69 to advance to the second round of the Qualifiers for the 2023 FIBA World Cup. This was Dragic’s last home match with the national team since he’s expected to return to retirement on the international stage after this qualifiers window.

Croatia brought all stars on board, such as Bojan Bogdanovic (13 points on 5-16 shots), Mario Hezonja (22 points, nine rebounds, six assists) and Ivica Zubac (14 points, seven rebounds) but fell behind 33-8 in the first quarter and was unable to catch up against a strong outing by the Slovenian side. Their team needs a home win over Finland on Saturday and also Slovenia to beat Sweden on the road to avoid elimination.

Mike Tobey added 16 points and 13 rebounds for Slovenia.

Finland also punched a ticket for the next stage of the Qualifiers by defeating Sweden 85 – 69 behind 22 points plus 11 rebounds by Lauri Markkanen. Belgium also advanced thanks to a 102 – 59 win over Slovakia.

The rest of Thursday’s (30/6) results:

Latvia – Serbia 66 – 59

Greece – Great Britain 93 – 71

Estonia – Germany 57 – 88

Poland – Israel 90 – 85

Standings via FIBA:

Group A

10/12 games played

		GAMES				STREAK	GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	Last 5	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	Latvia*	5	4	1	80.0		382	362	20	76.4	72.4	9
2	Belgium	5	3	2	60.0		386	319	67	77.2	63.8	8
3	Serbia*	5	3	2	60.0		375	365	10	75	73	8
4	Slovakia	5	0	5	0		316	413	-97	63.2	82.6	5

Group B

5/6 games played

		GAMES				STREAK	GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	Last 5	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	Greece*	4	3	1	75.0		310	287	23	77.5	71.8	7
2	Turkey*	3	1	2	33.3		222	215	7	74	71.7	4
3	Great Britain*	3	1	2	33.3		216	246	-30	72	82	4