By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Led by NBA star Luka Doncic, who scored a tournament-high 37 points so far, Slovenia opened the 2023 FIBA World Cup with a 100-85 victory over Venezuela.
As expected, Doncic displayed his magic in his first outing in Okinawa and even flirted with a potential first World Cup triple-double, grabbing seven rebounds and providing six assists. Luka shot 11/18 from the field, with just one miss for two-pointers (9/10), and went 13/16 from the free-throw line.
Mike Tobey also had a terrific match, as the new Crvena Zvezda center shot perfect 9/9 from the field for 21 points. Klemen Prepelic followed the duo with 18 points.
Luka dishing out no-look dime! 👀#FIBAWC x #WinForSlovenia pic.twitter.com/KMDKU0lFtO
— FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 🏆 (@FIBAWC) August 26, 2023
Garly Sojo led the losing side with 16 points, while Jhoran Zamora and Heissler Guillent added 12 points each. Jose Materan scored 11, and Michael Carrera finished with 10.
Venezuela had a great first half, shooting 12/25 from the three-point line, with Zamora hitting a buzzer-beater at the end of the second quarter for 51-56. However, they couldn’t cope with Doncic, Tobey, and the rest of the Slovenian team in the latter part of the match.
🇻🇪 Jhornan Zamora drains the Tissot #BuzzerBeater from way downtown! 😱🤯 #FIBAWC x #WinForVenezuela pic.twitter.com/GrZYUg79O5
— FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 🏆 (@FIBAWC) August 26, 2023
In Round 2, Slovenia will face a much tougher challenge against Georgia, who defeated Cape Verde in their World Cup debut, while Venezuela will have to contend with Edy Tavares and his teammates on August 28th.
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Photo: fiba.basketball