Slovenia has locked up a spot in the knockout stage
Luka Doncic and Slovenia defeated Japan 116 – 81 in their second game of the group stage. Luka had 25 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and two blocks in 26 minutes. He did not have a turnover and shot 8/15 from the floor, 7/10 from the free throw line and 2/8 from 3-point-range.
Zoran Dragic added 24 points on 10 of 13 shooting, as he provided a fantastic second option. Vlatko Cancar, Klemen Prepelic and Jaka Blazic joined Luka and Dragic in double figures. Slovenia shot 28 of 41 inside the arc as Japan had absolutely no answer for them at the rim.
Rui Hachimura led Japan with 34 points on 13/28 shooting. Yuta Watanabe and Makoto Hiejima joined him in double figures, but Japan just did not have enough fire power to compete with Slovenia.
Slovenia continued to absolutely dominate their competition offensively as they have now totaled 234 points in 80 minutes. That would translate to an average of 140.4 points per 48 minutes, to put it in NBA context. All teams have played two games and the United States is second in total points with 196.
Luka also played a fantastic defensive game, with two blocks and two steals. In addition to the blocks and steals, he had several deflections and even spent some time guarding Hachimura after his hot start.
In other Group C action, Spain defeated Argentina 81-71 today. With the Spanish victory, Slovenia is guaranteed a spot in the knockout round. Slovenia will play Spain at 3:20 am central time Sunday morning to determine the winner of this group.
Leave a Reply