Quarter-Finals preview: Will Poland fairytale continue against reigning champs Slovenia?

BERLIN (Germany) - Poland have had a magical ride to the Quarter-Finals of FIBA EuroBasket 2022, but even the best magician would struggle to find a way to slow down Luka Doncic as Slovenia are just three wins from defending their title.

Poland's last top-four EuroBasket showing came in 1971 but Igor Milicic's team grabbed Group Phase wins over Czech Republic, Israel and Netherlands and then knocked off Ukraine to get back to the Quarter-Finals for the first time since 1997. Poland lost their last two matchups with Slovenia - at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2020 in Lithuania and in the group stage in 2017. But the Poles defeated Slovenia in the EuroBasket 2013 first round.

Slovenia are hoping to avoid becoming the first title holder to be eliminated at the Quarter-Finals since Russia in 2009. The Slovenians have lost just once at EuroBasket 2022, falling to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the third game and winning the last three including the Round of 16 contest with Belgium.

Slovenia v Poland - Wednesday, 20:30 CET

Key Matchup: Michal Sokolowski will have the daunting task of trying to slow down NBA superstar Luka Doncic. Also look for Aleksander Balcerowski to do a lot of switching with Sokolowski to affect the Slovenian playmaker.

X-Factor: Zoran Dragic will miss the rest of the tournament with an injury which means Slovenia will have to shuffle their rotation. That will mean either head coach Aleksander Sekulic will insert Aleksej Nikolic into that spot or call on Jaka Blazic, Klemen Prepelic and Edo Muric to deal with an uptick in minutes.

Stats Don't Lie: Slovenia are tied as the top scoring team in the competition at 92.0 points per game while Poland have played a slower pace and score 80.2 points an outing. Slovenia also rank second in two-point shooting at 58.9 percent but 21st in three-pointers at 31.9 percent. Poland for their part are last in free throw percentage at 71.7 percent.

They Said: "We know they're a great team. We saw them in qualifying for the Olympics, and we have been watching them in this tournament. They're a great team, a physical team, with a couple of great players. Mateusz Ponitka is my former teammate, so I am aware of his game. So we have to be ready for this game for sure." - Mike Tobey, Slovenia

"There are no bad teams in the championship. The Polish national team is a very good team with three individuals who stand out. These are Slaughter and Ponitka on the outside and Balcerowski under the basket. … With the absence of Zoki (Zoran Dragic), who is an extremely important member of the team, our rotation is somewhat mixed up. We will have to think a little differently and find appropriate solutions and a recipe for continuing the championship." - Slovenia coach Aleksander Sekulic

"We all know it's going to be a tough game. Luka is playing at a really high level - one of the best players in the world. They have a load of other guys that are playing well. But we're gonna come out, play hard and we're not going to back down and just lay it all on the line. We will play with pride. At the end of the day it's basketball, the best team doesn't always win. We'll see what happens.” - AJ Slaughter, Poland

FIBA