Luka Doncic, Slovenia Gear Up for Venezuela in FIBA World Cup Opener

Luka Doncic and the Slovenian national team arrived in Okinawa on Monday ahead of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic and the Slovenian national team concluded a seven-game preparation schedule ahead of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup with a 103-68 victory over Japan in Tokyo. Doncic finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in under 28 minutes of action. 

"Against Japan, we managed a nice general before the start of the championship," Slovenian representative Jake Blazic said. "A high victory is good for our self-confidence and competitive feelings, and we enter the last days of preparation with positive energy. We will put them to good use.

"We must continue to focus mainly on ourselves, and we will start preparing more and more for the Venezuelan national team and getting to know their game system.”

Following two blowout losses in Malaga, Spain, against the Spanish national team and Team USA, a strong performance against a weaker opponent in Japan was used as a final tune-up before facing Venezuela on Saturday in Okinawa to begin their schedule against Group F. 

"I saw quite a few good things," Slovenian national team coach Aleksander Sekulic said. "What pleases me the most is the fact that we managed to limit the drops in the game. One happened in the fourth quarter, but we found a way back. 

"Hand on heart, we didn't play against an opponent like the USA or Spain. Not even against such as Montenegro was. It was a team that advocates a different way of playing basketball, which was a big challenge for us. We tackled it in the right way."

With plenty of time before Slovenia plays its first match in the World cup, the team will continue to train in Japan. They arrived in Okinawa on Monday after spending time in Tokyo well in advance of their final exhibition match to get acclimated to the time zone. 

Hello Okinawa, we are here 📍#mojtim | @TelemachSi | @SloveniaInfo pic.twitter.com/ylJLqhy6ya

— Košarkarska zveza SIovenije (@kzs_si) August 21, 2023

While some may focus on matching up against opponents that aren't frequent foes, Slovenia understands it's essential to address its own deficiencies. Some areas to improve after facing Spain and Team USA include defensive execution, rebounding, and limiting turnovers.

"We still have some time to prepare for the championship, we want to introduce new things and test them in training sessions and later in matches," Sekulic said. "We will also start dealing with opponents, the first will be Venezuela. But we also have to deal with ourselves."

Aside from Georgia, there isn't a great familiarity that Slovenia holds with the opponents in Group F, which also includes Venezuela and Cape Verde. However, the coaching staff will work hard to have the team prepared adequately.

"We know Venezuela from the match two years ago, when we played with them in the qualification for the Olympic Games," Sekulic said. "Georgia is an old friend of ours, we are less familiar with the Cape Verde Islands.

"But I coached one of their players, Ivan Almedio," Sekulic explained. "Of course, we also know Walter Tavares from Real Madrid. There will be two matches in the championship before our match and we will look at them in detail then. It is up to the coaching staff to prepare the team as best as possible for the opening three games."

After competing against Group F, Slovenia will compete against Group E, which consists of Germany, Finland, Australia, and Japan. The two best teams from each group will advance to the second part wave of competition. If Slovenia proves successful against Group F, they will join Group K in part of continuation of competition in Okinawa. The top two teams from Group K would then proceed to the quarterfinals in Manila, Philippines. 

With a successful performance at the World Cup, Slovenia aims to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. 

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Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).

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