By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Mike Tobey was rolling inside the paint as Slovenia led from start to finish en route to defeating Australia, 91-80, and clinching a berth in the Quarterfinals of the 2023 FIBA World Cup on Friday.
Tied with Germany at 4-0, both European countries will advance to the next round, after facing each other for the top seed of Group K in Okinawa Arena on Sunday. On the opposite end, the Boomers fell to 2-2 and were eliminated along with Georgia.
After picking up a technical foul early in the second quarter, Luka Doncic was up to three fouls and eventually carried four fouls for most of the second half. Lasting nearly 29 minutes, he helped his side resist comeback bids. The Dallas Mavericks superstar attracting most of the focus of the defense allowed Mike Tobey to dominate inside the paint, posting an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double plus five assists and one steal. Doncic himself put in a team-high 19 points to go with seven rebounds, six assists, one steal, and one block.
“We got him in foul trouble. Obviously, that was to our advantage. We wanted to get to him, in any we could. And I think we did that,” said Australia’s boss Brian Goorjian, “But the key to the game tonight was all the other guys.”
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Despite being set to move from Japan to the Philippines and compete in the knockout stage of the tournament, Slovenia requires additional triumphs to book a ticket to the 2024 Olympic Games instead of settling for a final opportunity through next summer’s FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. However, Australia will be in Paris as the top-ranked Oceania national team in the World Cup.
Momentum from reducing the deficit from 14 to four points at the end of the third quarter did not carry into the last ten minutes of the contest for the losing side. Josh Giddey ending up with 25 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals was not enough the change the situation. Patty Mills tallied 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
“Slow starts against good teams, it is hard to come back and win,” noted Giddey, “We were playing from behind all night.”
Falling short of repeating the huge win against Slovenia, and then securing the bronze medals in the 2020 Olympic Games, the team coached by Goorjian will wrap up the stay in Okinawa City by playing Georgia on Sunday.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL