Doncic Shines with 39 Points, But is Defeated by France in the EuroBasket
Luka Doncic, the Slovenian star, scored 39 points in an exciting match, but his team, Slovenia, suffered their second defeat in the EuroBasket against a strong French selection. The match, held on Saturday, culminated in a victory for France by 103-95, demonstrating the depth of their bench.
This defeat comes two days after Doncic scored 34 points in Slovenia’s loss to Poland, co-host of the tournament, with a final score of 105-95.
Sylvain Francisco, from the bench, led France with 32 points in the match played in Katowice, Poland. France improved its record to 2-0 in Group D.
Doncic had an outstanding performance, with 19 of 20 free throws converted, eight rebounds and nine assists. However, the 78 points contributed by France’s bench players, compared to Slovenia’s 26, made the difference.
In the French team, Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr, both players for the Washington Wizards, combined for 25 points. Zaccharie Risacher, of the Atlanta Hawks, contributed 12 points.
In Group D, Belgium defeated Iceland 71-64, overcoming a seven-point deficit in the final quarter, improving their record to 1-1. Iceland remains winless, with 0-2.Jokic Leads Serbia to Knockout Stage
Nikola Jokic also shone with 39 points, including the last two of the game from the free throw line, securing Serbia’s victory over Latvia by 84-80. The Denver Nuggets star also achieved 10 rebounds and four assists.
With a perfect 3-0 record in Group A, Serbia secured their place in the knockout stage. Latvia, co-host, fell to 1-2.
Bogdan Bogdanovic, Serbian captain and LA Clippers player, was unable to participate in the match due to a hamstring injury.
The group stage, involving 24 teams, is being played in four different countries. The top four teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage in Riga, Latvia, from September 6 to 14.
In Group A, Estonia (1-2) defeated the Czech Republic (0-3) by 89-75.Germany Secures Spot in Next Round
Dennis Schroder, point guard for the Sacramento Kings, scored 26 points in Germany’s 107-88 victory over Lithuania, securing their place in the knockout stage. Franz Wagner, forward for the Orlando Magic, added 24 points and seven rebounds, while Daniel Theis contributed 23 points. The German team, world champions, improved their record to 3-0 in Group B.
Germany dominated the game from long distance, with an impressive 54% success rate on three-point shots, including 5 out of 10 from Schroder. Despite being the victim of racist insults from two fans, who were expelled from the stadium in Tampere, Finland, Schroder also dished out six assists.
Rokas Jokubaitis scored 20 points for Lithuania, who now have a 2-1 record, and Jonas Valanciunas, Nuggets’ pivot, contributed 14 points.
Pelle Larsson of the Miami Heat scored 23 points in Sweden’s (1-2) victory over Great Britain (0-3) by 78-59, also in Group B.Giannis Rests, Greece Achieves a Resounding Victory
Giannis Antetokounmpo did not play in Greece’s 96-69 victory over Cyprus, two days after scoring 31 points in the win against Italy. Tyler Dorsey and Konstantinos Mitoglou led Greece (2-0) with 18 points each. Co-host Cyprus fell to 0-2.
In Group C, Simone Fontecchio, Miami Heat forward, scored 14 points to help Italy (1-1) defeat Georgia (1-1) by 78-62.
