Doncic’s tearful effort.
Slovenia fell to Croatia 92-108, by 16 points, in the first round of the Paris 2024 Olympic Final Qualification Group Stage on Wednesday (March 3) at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus, Greece.
Slovenian ace Luka Doncic recorded a triple-double with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in 37 minutes. However, Doncic missed 15 free throws. He shot 35% from the field. He missed all nine of his three-point attempts. His court margin was -24, the worst for either player.
Doncic said after the game, “I looked at the scoreboard after the game and it was terrible. I should have played much better,” Doncic said after the match. “In my opinion, Croatia played a great game, they outplayed us,” 스포츠토토사이트 he admitted after the loss.
The 24-nation Olympic Quilting Tournament is divided into four regional qualifiers of six teams each (Spain, Latvia, Greece, and Puerto Rico). Slovenia was in Group A of the Greek qualifiers, along with Croatia and New Zealand.
The six teams were divided into two groups, with the best two from each group advancing to the quarterfinals, where only the winner of the tournament will qualify for the Olympics.
Slovenia, who started the tournament with one loss, will next face New Zealand. On paper, Slovenia is favored to win, but the way things are going, it’s not going to be an easy road to the Olympics.
“Overall, our defense was not good, so we have to work on our defense, starting with me. We have to do much better than this in the next game and play with more energy,” he reflected.
For Doncic, it’s been a string of strong performances. In October of last year, Doncic played 92 games in eight months, from the NBA regular season to the playoffs to the Finals. Add in the national team schedule, and it’s a grueling schedule with no breaks.
On top of that, Doncic’s physical condition is at a premium, as he has battled injuries in every series of the NBA playoffs. “I’m sore everywhere,” Doncic said during the playoffs, acknowledging that he wasn’t feeling well.
Nevertheless, he answered the call of his national team and showed his patriotism.
“It’s a great honor for me to play for my country, even though I’m not feeling well, and it means a lot to me to play for two million people,” Doncic said. “The Dallas club helped me get on the national team. They never raised any issues with me being on the national team. I want to say thank you to the Dallas organization as well.”