Reacting to Slovenia’s difficult loss over Croatia in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament opening, Luka Doncic

In the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT), Dallas Mavericks player Luka Doncic produced a triple-double against Croatia in Riga, Latvia; Slovenia lost a difficult 108-92 on Tuesday.

Doncic battled with his shooting, scoring just 8 of 23 field goals (35%), and missing all nine of his three-point attempts despite his remarkable stat line of 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.

What he witnessed on the scoreboard still astounds him.

“I watched my shoots and statistics. Amazing. Doncic said in the post-game conference, “I got to play far better than this.”

Though his plus/minus index was the worst at -24, Doncic played almost 37 minutes and recorded 29 EFF.

“I felt Croatia performed really well. They outplayed us, he said. “We got to work on our defence, beginning with myself since ours was not very good. We have to play far better than today and with far more intensity.

Doncic continued to represent Slovenia for the fourth straight summer in FIBA events even though he participated in both regular-season and postseason games this past NBA season. Over the Mavs’ NBA Finals campaign, he also battled several injuries.

“Being able to represent my nation honours me. Although there may be injuries a lot of times, I just consider it as a great honour to play for my nation. Two million here, between us. Speaking for this nation means everything to me. Let me express thanks to Dallas. They never have issues with me playing; they let me. They are constantly aware I will be playing.

Though Slovenia had a night to forget in their FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) opener in Piraeus, Greece, Luka Doncic achieved a triple-double.

Doncic struggled with his shooting, hitting only 8 of his 23 field goals (35%), and missing all nine of his three-point tries even though he scored a game-high 26 points. Slovenia lost 108-92 their first OQT game vs Croatia.

Playing roughly 37 minutes, the Dallas Mavericks great also added 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Though his plus/minus index was the weakest, -24, his EFF was 29.

Doncic just made one of seven field goals in the first quarter, managing just 4 points and one assist. The NBA frontcourt duo of Dario Saric and Ivica Zubac proved difficult for Slovenia to contain, given their clear size advantage. In the opening ten minutes Croatia outscored Slovenia 31-16 and kept their lead all through the game.

Saric also registered a triple-double of 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists for 27 EFF over 32 minutes. Still, Zubac was the most efficient player for Croatia, finishing the game with 18 points (8/11 2PT, 2/2 FT), 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 29 EFF.

Slovenia will have one day to recover from this tough defeat before facing New Zealand on Thursday. Croatia will be playing on Wednesday meanwhile.