Defending champion Slovenia and NBA superstar Luka Doncic unexpectedly failed in the quarterfinals of the European Basketball Championships. The 2017 European champion lost in Berlin after a bad start 87:90 (39:58) to outsiders Poland.
Berlin – Defending champion Slovenia and NBA superstar Luka Doncic unexpectedly failed in the quarterfinals of the European Basketball Championships. The 2017 European champion lost in Berlin after a bad start 87:90 (39:58) to outsiders Poland.
Dallas Mavericks pro Doncic, who had already scored 47 points in a game this tournament, scored just 14 points and flew off the court prematurely after picking up his fifth personal foul. A very weak first half was fatal for the Slovenians.
Before Doncic, top favorite Serbia with Nikola Jokic and the Greeks around Giannis Antetokounmpo fell. The NBA’s three top stars will therefore leave the last round in Germany without a medal. On the Polish side, Mateusz Ponitka surpassed a rare triple-double (26 points, 15 rebounds, ten assists). The outsider will face the French in the semifinals on September 16 (17:15 / Magentasport), who previously beat Italy 93:85 (77:77, 38:31) after overtime.
A year after the Olympic silver in Tokyo, France is on its way to the next medal. Rudy Gobert (19 points and 14 rebounds) and Evan Fournier (17) were the guarantors of progress in the quarterfinals in front of 6,324 spectators – including German captain Dennis Schröder. The best scorer was Thomas Heurtel (20). Led by passionate coach Gianmarco Pozzecco, the Italians failed to pull off another surprise three days after a spectacular coup against top favorites Serbia.