By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Moving from the preliminary round to the knockout stage of the 2022 EuroBasket, plenty of national teams primed to land on the podium suffered early exits.
The Quarterfinals held Tuesday and Wednesday sent both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic home. Fellow NBA superstar and back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic was knocked out alongside Serbia in the Round of 16.
Host Germany against new-look Spain and experienced France looking to finish the Cinderella story of Poland shape the Semifinals. The tournament continues Friday and concludes Sunday with the medal games.
Eurohoops picked out five players bidding farewell in the Quarterfinals, more or less in a disappointing fashion.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece)
EuroBasket stats: 29.3 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 4.7 apg, 2.5 spg, 0.8 bpg
Greece and the Milwaukee Bucks leader both were impressive in the group stage. The perfect 5-0 record included wins over solid sides the likes of group host Italy and Croatia. The Czech Republic presented the first knockout threat but the Greek Freak and his teammates survived, only to get on the receiving end of the nasty bump to Germany three days later.
Giannis is still looking for success at the international level.
Lauri Markkanen (Finland)
EuroBasket stats: 27.9 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.6 spg, 0.4 bpg
Since labeled as the Finisher, Markkanen was way more connected in making bucket after bucket compared to the impressive senior debut back in the 2017 EuroBasket. Deliveries lifting Finland to the second seed of Group D behind Serbia and in the Round of 16 past Croatia. Spain’s Sergio Scariolo put an end to hopes for a medal.
The recent addition to the Utah Jazz asserted himself as a huge part of the national team. It gets scarier from here.
Luka Doncic (Slovenia)
EuroBasket stats: 26.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 6.6 apg, 2.0 spg, 0.6 bpg
Instead of defending the title captured in 2017, Slovenia and the Dallas Mavericks star will be spectators for the remainder of 2022 EuroBasket. Doncic was not 100%, Poland was, and that was about it. Slovenia also lost to Bosnia-Herzegovina in the preliminary round but managed to rank first in the group thanks to wins over powerhouses Lithuania, Germany, and France.
Surely more to come from Doncic. He has been around for a while but at the end of the day is only 23.
Simone Fontecchio (Italy)
EuroBasket stats: 19.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.7 spg, 0.4 bpg
Besides Markkanen, Jazz fans also witnessed fellow EuroBasket standout Fontecchio exiting in the Quarterfinals. Accustomed to heavy scoring at the international level, the 26-year-old forward was productive all the way from Milan to Berlin but missing a couple of free throws ultimately was the difference between progressing to the Semifinals and going home.
Fontecchio switches focus on the NBA before potentially running it back with Azzurri.
Goran Dragic (Slovenia)
EuroBasket stats: 14.9 ppg, 3.7 apg, 2.6 rpg, 1.6 spg
The aforementioned players will presumably be back aiming to get their revenge and with a deeper dive lead their respective countries higher in an international tournament. But for Goran Dragic this was the end of the road, barring yet another return to the national team. Coming out of retirement to help Slovenia this summer, he certainly hoped to repeat the success from five years ago. It was not meant to be.
Up next are the Chicago Bulls.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL