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Goran Dragic And Luka Doncic Lead Slovenia Over Greece In 2017 FIBA EuroBasket, Slovenia Stays Perfect

By Laurence Hao
Published on: 19:53 PST, Sep 3, 2017

In a battle of powerhouse teams, something has to give. With a spot in the knockout rounds not guaranteed, Greece and Slovenia figured in a highly-entertaining high level of basketball as they battled it out for 40 minutes in the 2017 FIBA EuroBasket. In the end, Slovenia defeated Greece, 78-72.

The First Quarter – Doncic proves he can play with the big boys

The first quarter was Luka Doncic’s show. The 18-year-old top NBA draft prospect was in his element, highlighting his versatility and showing off passing skills way beyond his years. Doncic scored nine points and dished out two assists as Slovenia erected a 10-point lead after the first quarter.

Greece’s defense held Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic to six points. According to Yahoo Sports, Dragic was averaging 29.5 points per game in his first two games with Slovenia. Anthony Randolph again made his presence felt on the defensive end as he blocked two shots.

Second quarter – Greece fights back

Greece managed to cut Slovenia’s lead down to four points with less than four minutes left in the quarter. Interestingly enough, Greece’s run coincided to Randolph sitting on the bench. Dragic and Doncic tried to keep the Slovenian afloat, but the Greece National Team already made the necessary adjustments, pounding the ball inside and aggressively playing on the defensive end. At the end of the first half, Greece had the momentum and was only trailing by five points, 30-35.

Greece was paced by Nikos Pappas and the 20-year-old Georgios Papagiannis with six points each while captain Ioannis Bourousis added five points. Slovenia was led by Doncic with 14 points with Dragic and Klemen Prepelic chipping in eight and seven points, respectively.

Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic in action for the Slovenia National Team. [Image by Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva/AP Images]

Third Quarter – Greece turns up the heat!

Greece started the third quarter on fire, taking the lead three minutes into the quarter and erected a 39-35 lead at the 6:14 mark. Slovenia struggled to put points in the third frame, scoring their first points with only 6:02 minutes left in the quarter when Dragic set up Randolph for an easy and-one play.

But Greece was relentless and unfazed. Greece pounded the ball inside, putting pressure on the smaller Slovenian squad and built their biggest lead of the game at 45-38 with 4:42 left in the third quarter. Slovenia went on a quick 5-0 that forced Greece to call a timeout. Despite Greece’s dominance in the quarter, Slovenia was only trailing by six points, 52-58 entering the final quarter.

Fourth Quarter – #Dracarys Time for Dragic

It’s winning time and Goran Dragic took over for Slovenia, cutting Greece’s lead to only three points early in the quarter. Prepelic, perhaps playing his best game of the tournament, further reduced Greece’s lead to two points before Pappas answered with a layup to restore a four point advantage for Greece.

Anthony Randolph, Klemen Prepelic, Goran Dragic, and Luka Doncic celebrate after defeating Greece. [Image by Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva/AP]

Doncic and Pappas traded baskets a couple of plays later to put Greece up 66-62 with less than five minutes remaining in the game. An Edo Muric layup and a Doncic dunk tied the game with four minutes remaining in the quarter. Doncic then fed Muric for a three-point field goal to allow Slovenia to take the lead, 69-66 with 3:18 left in the game. Gasper Vidmar then split his free throws to give Slovenia a 70-66 lead with just over two minutes left in the game.

Nick Calathes scored on a layup for Greece before Muric split his charities to give Slovenia a three-point cushion with one minute and 57 seconds left in the game. Kostas Sloukas cut Slovenia’s lead to one point with a pair of free throws with 1:42 remaining on the clock. Dragic then sank two free throws and made a layup to give the Slovenians a 75-70 lead with 22 seconds remaining, effectively putting the game away for good.

Goran Dragic was held to 20 points after averaging 29.5 points in Slovenia’s first two games. Doncic finished with a game-high 22 points while Prepelic added 16. Greece was led by Sloukas who scored 18 points. Pappas, Papagiannis, and Georgios Printezis added 10 points each for Greece.

Slovenia now has a 3-0 win-loss record in the 2017 FIBA EuroBasket and will next face Iceland on September 5. Greece, meanwhile, dropped to 1-2 and will meet Finland for their fourth game of the tournament, also on September 5. According to the Sun Sentinel, Slovenia has already clinched a spot in the knockout stage of the tournament.

The top four teams in each group will advance to the knock stage of the 2017 FIBA EuroBasket. The top six teams at the end of the tournament automatically qualify for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup to be held in China.

[Featured Image by Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva/AP Images]

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