Defending champion Slovenia sensationally dropped out of the quarter-finals at the European Basketball Championship after a false start and catching up. The team around NBA star Luka Doncic lost to the blatant outsider Poland on Wednesday (September 14th, 2022) in Berlin by 87:90 (39:58). For the first time since 2009, a European champion failed so early, when Russia got caught.
This means that the third heavyweight is not in the semifinals after Serbia with NBA MVP Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) and Greece with Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) in Slovenia with Doncic (Dallas Mavericks).
Slovenians disappoint against strong Poles
The Slovenians disappointed across the board until the break. Strongly playing Poland, overtaken by Finland (59:89) and Serbia (69:96) in the preliminary round, led at times by 23 points. Then the favorites increased and turned the game around in the third quarter (24:6), but the Poles around their best thrower Mateusz Ponitka (26 points) fought back.
Doncic (14 points) had to leave the field three minutes before the end after the fifth foul. On Friday (5.15 p.m.) Poland will play France, who eliminated Italy in the quarter-finals with 93:85 (77:77, 38:31) after extra time.
France defeats Italy after extra time
France, the team around the two NBAStars Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier, is on course for a medal. Gobert (19 points and 14 rebounds) and Fournier (17) were in the quarter-finals in the Berlin Arena in front of 6,324 spectators – including Germany’s captain Dennis Schröder – guarantors for progress. Top scorer was Thomas Heurtel (20).
Led by the passionate coach Gianmarco Pozzecco, the Italians were unable to pull off another surprise three days after the spectacular coup against top favorites Serbia. Simone Fonteechio and Marco Spissu were the best players with 21 points each.