EUROBASKET – The Blues will face Poland, who created the sensation against Slovenia of Doncic

After Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic! It is definitely a surprising Euro. Rich in sensations. While the Serbian selection and then the Greek team have already fallen from above in recent days despite the presence of their NBA superstars, it was Slovenia who suffered the same fate this Wednesday evening. Luka Doncic couldn’t do anything about it. Yet largely favorites in their quarter-final, the semi-finalists of the 2022 Olympic Games took the door against a Polish team who signed a grandiose feat (87-90) to join the last four of the Euro for the first time since 1971 .

While Luka Doncic has been entertaining since the start of the Euro, the Dallas genius missed out on his quarter-final. If he woke up in the third quarter, when Slovenia raised their heads, the Slovenian phenomenon, visibly embarrassed behind the thigh in the second half, did not shine as usual. Clumsy (5 out of 15 on shots, 33%), draft for once (6 balls lost), he did not weigh on this meeting as he usually does. And if he finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists, he had to leave his teammates three minutes from the end for five fouls.

Ponitka just monstrous

Without him, the Slovenians failed to reverse the trend. But we must not be mistaken: Poland went to seek its victory before. During the first two quarters in particular, the Poles enjoyed themselves. With a well-oiled game, (a time) a great three-point success (9 out of 19 at the break, 13 out of 38 in the end) and an effective transition game, the Polish collective completely foiled the Slovenians. Until taking a 23-point lead before joining the locker room in the wake of a simply monstrous Mateusz Ponitka. Author of 26 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, the former player of Zenit Saint-Petersburg, who broke his contract shortly after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, is only the third player in history of the Euro to achieve a triple double after the Croatian Toni Kukoc in 1995 and the Romanian Andrei Mandache in 2017.

If Slovenia raised their heads during the third quarter to inflict a 24-6 on Poland and pick up, AJ Slaughter’s teammates (16 pts, 6 rebounds, 4 wt) were able to stay focused. Unable to set the sights and put their basketball in place in the third period, they didn’t panic when Slovenia closed in on the lead. They even regained their feelings at the best time to come back in front five minutes from the end. Before no longer cracking up to go to the semi-finals and the Blues, who did not necessarily expect to challenge them. But Evan Fournier, Rudy Gobert and their teammates know what to expect…