PIRAEUS (Greece) - We told you they were the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament specialists. Croatia stunned Slovenia 108-92 to deliver the sixth-highest offensive performance in an OQT ever (tied with Serbia, in 2016) powered by an incredible all-round game by Dario Saric who got a triple-double in a win.
Turning point
Croatia started the game by exploiting the Ivica Saric v Luka Doncic matchup, and it paid off almost immediately. Saric established his presence in the low post, getting Croatia off to an early lead, and once Goran Filipovic and Mario Hezonja joined him from beyond the arc, the lead ballooned to double digits.
Slovenia, meanwhile, could get nothing going offensively, missing their first 14 shots from beyond the arc. Jaleen Smith and Filip Kruslin took turns guarding Doncic and even though he had 16 points at the half, he struggled shooting the ball and did not make a single three-pointer in the entire game, misfiring on all nine attempts.
Croatia's good defense fueled their offense. Saric and Ivica Zubac kept dominating inside, with the sole question mark rising midway through the third quarter, when Zubac picked up his fourth foul.
But that question mark soon turned into an exclamation mark, as Goran Filipovic knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to push the lead to +20.
Slovenia's only goal from then on was cutting the final deficit in case of a potential three-way tie at the end of the group stage.
TCL Player of the Game
He had praised Luka Doncic before the game, and then he went on to do what Doncic usually does, and collect double digits in points, rebounds and assists.
The 30-year-old from Sibenik had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, reminding the entire world of his 2016 performances, when he was named the MVP of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Turin, Italy.
"When he's got the ball in his hands and is creating as a 'four,' I consider him one of the best if not the best power forward in all of Europe," coach Josip Sesar praised his team captain.
Saric shot 7-of-14 from the field, and Croatia were a +22 team with him on the floor.
Stats don't lie
There are plenty of advanced stats which could help us understand basketball better, but it all came down to a rather simple number: the one that denotes who put the ball through the hoop more often.
Croatia shot 59 percent from the field, including 13-of-28 from beyond the arc, an incredible number compared to their opponents who went 9-of-38 from the three-point range.
Bottom line
Croatia celebrate a memorable win over their neighbors, but coach Josip Sesar is well aware that the job is nowhere near finished. They have to face New Zealand in less than 20 hours, which could be a tricky assignment since Mario Hezonja played 36 minutes, Saric spent 32 minutes out there, and Filipovic 33.
He is the unsung hero of this win. Igokea m:tel's 27-year-old point guard finished with 21 points on 6-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc and had 6 assists and 4 rebounds, as well. Honorable mentions go out to Ivica Zubac's 18 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, and Mario Hezonja's 12 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds.
For Slovenia, the path towards an Olympic ticket just became a bit tougher. They have a day off on Wednesday, much needed to get Luka Doncic some rest.
He played 37 minutes against Croatia, collecting 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, making it back-to-back OQT triple-doubles, since he had one in his last game in 2021.
They said
"Croatia played great. They outplayed us, our defense was not good, we gotta work on our defense, starting with me. I gotta play way better than this and we got to play with way better energy. My shots were terrible, I gotta play way better than this. It's an honor for me to play for my country, there are gonna be injuries, but I just see a big honor to play for my country. We have a population of two million people, to represent this country means everything to me. Special thanks to Dallas Mavericks, they let me play and never had a problem with this." - Luka Doncic, Slovenia
"Croatia came out to win, and we just came out to play, not to win. They showed it with their energy, we didn't. We just need to, each one of us, look at ourselves and think what we could do better. It's not the end of the world, but the way that we lost - I don't like it." - Slovenia head coach Aleksandar Sekulic
"We started the game really good, really hard and that gave us the opportunity to take control of the game. After that, we took it possession by possession and won." - Goran Filipovic, Croatia
FIBA