Luka Doncic threw the ball into the crowd and was celebrated. In the previous 40 minutes of play, the Slovenian basketball star had single-handedly brought France to their knees with an incredible show. Doncic hit even the most difficult throws and didn’t let an interim head injury stop him.
“Do you have a son? When I watch him, I don’t see a basketball player. I’m incredibly proud of him,” said Doncic’s father Sasa, who analyzes the games of the Slovenians as an expert for the Slovenian broadcaster “Nova24TV”, after the game to WELT. “That was a historic show.”
Led by their outstanding star, who scored 47 points, defending champion Slovenia secured first place in the German European Championship group by beating France 88:82 (44:40). The German team meets outsiders Hungary in the evening.
Doncic had already scored 27 points for the European champions in the top game in the Cologne Arena against France at half-time, including a one-legged three from the corner over his French defenders. It was Doncic’ best personal result in the tournament so far and the second best number of points by a player in the history of the European Championship. The Belgian Eddy Terraca holds the record with 63 points. On Tuesday evening, the Dallas Mavericks point guard had already scored 36 points in the 88:80 win over Germany.
France coach Vincent Collet criticized the performance of the referees after the game: “The best players, a high level of play and then we see something like that. What should I tell my players about the last two fouls? And the referees put their whistles in their pockets and just go back into the dressing room.”
The Slovenian victory also means that the German team will finish Group B in second place. The outcome of the last game against Hungary (8.30 p.m. / Magentasport) is meaningless for the team around captain Dennis Schröder. National coach Gordon Herbert explained before the game on “Magentasport” that he would rest Schröder and Daniel Theis against Hungary. Nick Weiler-Babb misses the game with a shoulder injury.
