By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
First, it was Jordan Loyd for Poland, and now another EuroLeague star, Sylvain Francisco, stole the show and the 103-95 win from Luka Doncic.
The Slovenian star was great with 39 points, nine assists, eight rebounds – plus five turnovers and a “T” – but France beat Slovenia with Francisco scoring 32, grabbing seven rebounds, dishing five assists, and making big plays when it counted the most.
However, he also created a scuffle in the end, scoring in the closing seconds, with the game decided, and he also got a technical foul, like Slovenia’s Gregor Hrovat.
Slovenia closed the first half up by seven (54-47) with Doncic scoring 24 points and closing the second quarter with three free throws after getting fouled by Guershon Yabusele, who was also hit with a technical foul.
The most important number was that Slovenia had already made 25 out of 31 free throws, and France attempted 11, making nine of them, as the physicality of the “Bleus” was punished. For the record, France closed the game with 25/29 FT and Slovenia had 38/46.
Thanks to a 9-0 run, France got the 60-59 after a three-pointer by Zacharrie Risacher, and at the end of the period, the score was 70-68 in favor of Slovenia.
The momentum continued to belong to France. Francisco, with a big three, gave his team a 79-74 lead. Slovenia tied it all at 81 with Doncic returning on the court to finish the game, and with the game on the line, a goal-foul by Elie Okobo and a three by Yabusele, his only in the game, after a missed shot by Doncic gave France an 89-83 lead with three minutes left.
Slovenia couldn’t make a run; on the contrary, with 45 seconds left, Luka Doncic and the bench got two technical fouls, with Okobo finishing the game with 14 points.
In the first game of the day for Group D, Belgium beat Iceland 71-64, with Emmanuel Lecomte scoring 16 points. Later, hosts Poland beat Israel 66-64 with Jordan Loyd scoring 27 points and Deni Avdija missing the potential game-winning three, finishing the night with 23 points.
Photo credit: FIBA