A few hours before the entry into the running of the French team, the first shock of Group B takes place in Cologne, between Slovenia and Lithuania, and their NBAers. A match to follow closely for the French supporters, for the spectacle that this poster obviously promises, but also and above all for the future consequences that the result of this match can have on the classification of France in the group stage.
The start of the match offers a contrast in style: the Slovenians start with a 5/5 behind the arc, while the Lithuanians pound near the circle through the racket Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas, then by that of the pocket leader Lukas Lekavicius, author of 8 points off the bench. On the Slovenian side, it is also the executives who hold the house: the quartet Luka Doncic / Goran Dragic / Jaka Blazic / Mike Tobey compiles 22 of the 27 points scored by Slovenia.
Thereafter, the Slovenian second knives keep their foot on the accelerator (Klemen Prepelic, Vlatko Cancar) while the conductor Luka Doncic is on the bench. Slovenia managed to break Lithuania’s attacking rhythm, with systematic two-man tackles at the low post when Sabonis and Valanciunas received the ball.
Really good basketball
At +7 (41-34) five minutes from halftime, the Slovenians are close to a first break, but Mindaugas Kuzminkas and Marius Grigonis come to the rescue of their team at the end of the first period, which was starting to lose foot. At the break, there is only one possession difference (51-48).
Upon returning from the locker room, we witness an overall drop in speed. Both teams have strong moments in the third quarter, but fail to show consistency. For example, Slovenia are jostled at the start, but respond quickly and regain a 7-point lead (64-57) with a good passage from Mike Tobey in particular… only to finally lose their footing a second time and let Lithuania return to – 2 (69-67) after half an hour of play.
The Slovenians will even be very scared at the start of the fourth quarter, since Lithuania, under the impetus of a Domantas Sabonis who finally regains his level of play from the first quarter, takes two possessions away (78 -73).
Doncic comes back into play and… Slovenia come out on top!
But the reigning European champions have character, and perhaps a little more resources and margin than their opponents. Thus, after the return to the field of the two bosses Goran Dragic and Luka Doncic, the Slovenians find bite. The first is in attack mode, when the second distributes succulent passes against a Lithuanian defense which leaves much to be desired on “pick-and-roll”. The “money-time” is finally easily managed by Slovenia, which imposes itself 92-85.
Despite the defeat, Lithuania has nothing to be ashamed of. Shallower on paper, Kazys Maksvytis’ troop made it tough on a heavy favorite in the competition, but simply lacked the late-game creativity to prevail. We will certainly have to be wary of Lithuania in this Group B.
The highs & flops of the meeting
✅ Slovenia’s role players. If Luka Doncic is obviously the conductor of this Slovenian troop, it has a wide range of options in attack. We saw it during this match, during which several lieutenants were very prominent: Mike Tobey with 24 points and 8 rebounds, Jaka Blazic with 14 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, or Vlatko Cancar with 11 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. The former is Luka Doncic’s ideal partner on ‘pick-and-roll’ as he can just as well swerve wide as he can roll towards the circle, when the latter have an outside shooting quality which is obviously very valuable alongside. from the Dallas point guard, who systematically attracts the attention of several defenders and triggers numerous assists.
✅ Luka Doncic & Goran Dragic sovereign in the “money-time”. While Slovenia was a bit struggling at the end of the match, the two leaders returned to the field, and the “momentum” immediately swung in favor of the 2017 European champions. When they play together, Slovenia is largely more dangerous in attack, because there are two lethal ball carriers on pick-and-roll and one-on-one. While Goran Dragic planted a decisive outside shot and lay-up, Luka Doncic served Mike Tobey on pick-and-roll. And so, in three or four possessions, the two friends of the Slovenian “backcourt” extinguished the fire and secured the victory.
✅ Lithuanian substitutes. Nice exit from the bench for Mindaugas Kuzminkas (19 points and 3 rebounds), Lukas Lekavicius (14 points and 5 assists) and Ignas Brazdeikis (8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block and 1 interception). While the major five was disappointing overall, this trio of substitutes saved the ship from drowning on several occasions. If the defeat is all the same in the end, their performance is still to be highlighted.
⛔️ Rokas Jokubaitis. Can the Barcelona leader already lose his place in the major five? The reflection deserves to be carried out as the young Lithuanian drooled: only 2 points and 2 assists, and a +/- of -16! At the same time, his lining Lukas Lekavicius signs a large part, with 14 points and 5 assists. A wake-up call is expected, and above all necessary, for the good of Lithuania in the rest of the group stage.
⛔️ For Lithuania, bullet losses and regrets. If Slovenia was very clearly above the lot during the “money-time” thanks to Luka Doncic and Goran Dragic, Lithuania generally held firm throughout the match. At the start of the last quarter, Domantas Sabonis and his teammates even seemed in a very good position to sign an “upset”. But overall, with 16 loose balls, the Lithuanians gave the Slovenians too many free points and weren’t disciplined enough to hope for a win.
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