By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Surviving a furious rally in the fourth quarter, Slovenia topped Iceland, 87-79, in Spodek Arena and qualified for the Round of 16 of EuroBasket 2025.
Lasting nearly 32 minutes despite playing with three fouls from the first quarter, Luka Doncic paved the way with a game-high 26 points, including 17 in the second half. Driving his country to 2-2 in Group D, the Los Angeles Lakers star added seven rebounds, four assists, three steals, and one block. Aleksej Nikolic threw in 17 points, and Alen Omic ended up with eight points plus 13 rebounds after an injury scare in the first half.
“We stayed calm, we didn’t lose our focus, and finished the game the way we wanted to get the win,” noted the selector of the senior national team of Slovenia, Aleksander Sekulic, in the postgame press conference, referring to the fourth quarter of the Gameday 4 affair.
Earlier in Katowice, Israel faced a similar comeback bid to clinch a berth in the knockout stage of the tournament with a 92-89 victory over Belgium. Pushing their side to 3-1 and the opponents to 1-3, Deni Avdija scored 22 points, Roman Sorkin followed with 18 points, and Tomer Ginat posted a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double.
With host Poland previously qualified, France also advanced to the Round of 16 on Tuesday. Since all four advancing spots were decided, Iceland and Belgium were eliminated, with one game remaining in the five-game round-robin schedule of the preliminary round.
“We improved in some areas compared to the previous games. We shot much better from the three-point line. But on the other side, we had a few more turnovers from previous games, which were a little bit costly,” said Iceland head coach Craig Pedersen on his side being forced to 0-4.
Photo Credit: FIBA