He scored his first basket of the night four seconds after the opening jump ball. This first converted shot under the circle was anything but a harbinger of offensive fireworks for Luka Doncic against Australia.
Because once the Australian defense was in place, the Slovenian leader was very limited in expressing himself. In the ball comebacks that followed, the conductor was caught in pairs, the same when playing the “pick-and-roll” at the head of the racket. Aggressive two-man takes that forced him to let go of the leather.
” We knew they were going to put in place different defensive schemes and we were ready for that. Everyone was mentally ready to take on more responsibility », testifies his teammate Aleksej Nikolic (9 points at 3/10), one of the six players on the team to have reached or exceeded 9 units.
” I’m very proud of the way we played today. Everyone stuck together no matter what. They took me to two on each possession, and everyone made the right call. We stuck together and I think we’re a great team “, greets the Mavs player for his part, recalling that it was a “remake” of the match for the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Author of two performances over 30 points in the first round, he was limited to 19 points, his lowest total in the competition with his lowest shooting quota (4/9), and all the same 7 rebounds and 7 assists but 6 lost balls. He had not lost so many balls in this World Cup.
Dealing with fault concerns
” Such a team victory is an incredible feeling. Even though Luka guides us throughout the tournament, we always play as a team, and today is a perfect example of that. “, continues Nikolic whose leader was also subject to concerns about faults. In the second quarter, he had to stay on the bench for five minutes after taking his third foul. But in his absence, the gap remained in favor of Slovenia.
” We were able to show, despite Luka’s foul problems, that we could play well and that we have a good team. Everyone showed up. We knew that Australia were a great team and we went into this game knowing that it would be important for us to qualify. “, also appreciates Mike Tobey (18 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists), one of the main beneficiaries of the two-takes of Doncic.
All indicators therefore seem to be green for Slovenia when they face another undefeated nation in this competition, Germany. ” We take the games one after the other, I don’t know where we will end up, but I can assure you that we will give everything we have in every game, as you saw today “, promises Doncic who does not want to leave Asia without a medal.
