LJUBLJANA (Slovenia) - Domas Sabonis suited up for Lithuania for the first time in the buildup to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament but Slovenia, with Luka Doncic watching from the bench in street clothes, dug deep in the fourth quarter to claim a 70-68 win.
With the teams in a race against time to get ready for their respective OQTs, there were encouraging signs that both will be ready by July 2.
Sabonis, who played just over half the game, had 9 points and a game-high 15 rebounds but Lithuania weren't able to beat Slovenia for the second time in three days after winning their first encounter in Vilnius.
The story of the game
While Lithuania led by as many as eight points in the third quarter, they weren't able to pull away and instead, the clash wasn't decided until the final minutes.
Lukas Lekavicius had a couple of big plays to seize the initiative for the visitors early in the fourth quarter, drilling one of his team's five 3-pointers in the game after a timeout and then adding immediately after a 3-point play following a tough drive.
But Slovenia, desperate for Vlatko Cancar to return to the form that saw him become a crucial player at the OQT in Kaunas three years ago before shining at the Olympics, got a big 3 from him to close the gap to 61-57. He had missed his previous eight shots.
Josh Nebo showed what he is capable of doing for Slovenia for the first time with a steal and dunk and Lithuania were then undermined by a technical foul that Kazy Maksvytis was slapped with for complaining. Klemen Prepelic capitalized, making the free-throw to tie the game at 61-61.
A pair of late free-throws from unsung hero Gregor Hrovat and an Aleksej Nikolic 3-pointer put Slovenia on top to stay at 68-64 with 1:49 remaining.
Slovenia needed one more big play in the final minute to keep the pressure on and it was Prepelic who delivered, somehow scoring on a drive despite being fouled by Deividis Sirvydis. Slovenia held on.
The player of the game
Prepelic is a bona fide star in this Slovenia team, and not just because of his scoring but his playmaking and leadership. He finished with 15 points and 4 assists.
When big plays had to be made, especially with Doncic not yet in the team, Prepelic made them.
Lekavicius showed why he was sorely missed last year at the World Cup, leading Lithuania with 13 points and hitting key shots.
The stats of the game
Slovenia are desperate to get into transition and they were able to, scoring 17 fast break points, and 25 points off Lithuania turnovers. Their free-throw shooting was debilitating for a while yet they ended up hitting a respective 21 of 29 (72%).
If Lithuania are going to pass up some looks inside, they need to bury more 3-pointers with the team just 5 of 22. Marius Grigonis is probably their biggest weapon from deep but he was just 1 of 5, and another important weapon off the bench, Mindaugas Kuzminskas, missed all three of his attempts from long range.
The takeaways from the game
There was a sense of urgency for both teams to play well in this game, which shows that each country knows how difficult the OQTs are going to be. They need to be as sharp as they can when the action gets under on July 2.
Without Jonas Valanciunas for the OQT, Lithuania need good minutes from Donatas Motiejunas and they got them in the first half. Because it was his first game, Sabonis only played just over 20 minutes but he could have easily lasted more. Lithuania's ball movement was good and they had plenty of good looks that just didn't go in. There will not be any cause for panic with this loss, even against a Slovenia playing without Doncic. When push comes to shove, and it will at the OQT, Lithuania are not going to lose in the physicality department and with more games under their belt, they will be be better.
For Slovenia, others will need to step up as Doncic recovers from his toughest NBA campaign to date. This is not the Slovenia team seemed to surprise everyone in Kaunas in 2021 and blew them away, and then did so well at the Olympics. What is good about this team is the way that it has fought the past two games while waiting for their star, who will play on Friday against Brazil.
Slovenia need to run in games, and need Cancar to find some form before the OQT. Will Aleksander Sekulic opt for Josh Nebo or Mike Tobey as the naturalized player? It's a tough question. The lobs that Tobey and his teammates were dunking at will a few years ago do not seem to be there right now.
For now, Prepelic, Zoran Dragic and Aleksej Nikolic need to draw on all of their experience, and Hrovat needs to keep diving all over the place for loose balls and rebounds, for Slovenia to win.
We'll get a first glimpse of what Doncic is going to be like at the OQT when he takes on Brazil on Friday.
FIBA