Luka Doncic, Slovenia Defeat Croatia in Friendly
Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic and the Slovenia Basketball Federation played their final exhibition game before EuroBasket against Croatia. Vlatko Cancar and Goran Dragic led Slovenia to a 94-88 win on Saturday.
"We still have a a lot to do, but we are on the right track," Dragic told Sportsklub in an interview.
Croatia, who includes an impressive roster with names like Bojan Bogdanovic, Dario Saric, Ivica Zubac, and Mario Hezonja, won the first half of this matchup 46-41.
"We corrected that in the second half, we had an excellent third quarter, the reaction the players after coming from the dressing room was fantastic. Then we saw that we can play even without Luka Doncic, that was also the idea today to test things when he is not on the pitch,"
Dragic, who finished with 19 points, elevated his performance in the third quarter of this game — scoring most of his points during this stretch. He understood it was time to turn it up. Slovenia outscored Croatia 36-26 within the third quarter.
"I am still saving for these friendly matches. When it comes to the real thing, there will be no 'scratching.' We are ready, it won't be easy, but we are happy for every challenge and we can't wait," Dragic added.
The top performer for Slovenia was Cancar, who racked up 21 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and one steal. He shot 7-9 overall, 4-6 on 3s, and 3-4 on free throws.
Doncic finished with 10 points, five rebounds, and six assists in just over 21 minutes. He shot 2-9 from the floor, 1-7 on 3-pointers, and 5-8 on free throws.
Slovenia will next participate in World Cup Qualifiers during their next two games against Estonia (Aug. 25) and Germany (Aug. 28). Following those matchups, they will begin EuroBasket against Lithuania on Sep. 1.
You can follow Grant Afseth on Twitter at @GrantAfseth.
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