By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Luka Doncic just achieved his first-ever triple-double with the Slovenian NT as the nation qualified to the Olympic Games for the first time in history and the press conference that followed this feat was one for the ages.
“I’m speechless. We didn’t have much time to prepare [for the final]. We have an amazing team, the chemistry is incredible and everybody plays their heart out”, said Doncic in his opening remarks.
The 22-year-old was named the MVP of the Kaunas tournament, as Slovenia punched a ticket for Tokyo later this July. “I don’t care about the MVP. We’re going to the Olympics. Every kid in Slovenia dreams of being in the Olympics, I did too. We deserve to be here. We [as a team] are making history. Not me. That was our goal. We will go from here.”
Just before taking on more questions from the media, the Slovenian NT crashed the press conference in style.
After Doncic regained his composure, he talked about the importance of basketball in his life, especially after such a historic moment for the Slovenian NT.
“It means a lot, almost everything to me. Since I was young, I was always dreaming of playing in the NBA, playing in the Olympics, playing with my national team… It means everything. I have achieved some things at age 22 but from here it’s only uphill and I hope to achieve more than that. We are a small country but we have a lot of potentials”, said Doncic.
The spirits weren’t that lifted for the Lithuanian side, that just missed their first Olympics since declaring their independence from the Soviet Union.
“We risked some things with their bigs, but the killer was the third quarter and our defense. Huge disappointment, we lost at home. But it is what it is, we win together, we lose together”, said head coach Darius Maskoliunas who announced he’s stepping down from the NT’s bench after his short stint.
Photo: FIBA