The Slovenian national team will rely heavily on Luka Doncic as they prepare for the 2023 FIBA World Cup in a few weeks. The Dallas Mavericks guard has been going hard against opponents in tune-up games.
Slovenia is slated to take on the Spanish national team on Friday, August 11 at in Malaga, Spain. After this, they will test their skills against Team USA the next day. Luka Doncic is expected to play in both games and much is in the hands of the four-time NBA All-Star.
Spain will be bannered by another brother duo of Juancho and Willy Hernangomez. They will be joined by veteran players Sergio Llull and Rudy Fernandez. Ricky Rubio was supposed to be with the team but the Cavs' point guard pulled out weeks ago to work on his mental health.
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Meanwhile, Doncic should provide monster numbers again but basketball is a team sport so he needs help as well. Jaka Blazic and Zoran Dragic need to step up, especially against higher-ranked teams by FIBA in order to attain their objective to win the 2023 FIBA World Cup or get the best European finish in the tournament.
Luka Doncic had a monster game against Montenegro
The Slovenian basketball team had a tune-up match against Montenegro last time out. The match featured Luka Doncic taking on Nikola Vucevic (both being NBA stars).
Slovenia won the game by just four points and basketball fans were treated with some amazing basketball from Doncic and Vucevic.
Doncic had a triple-double of 34 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds while Vucevic struggled with 14 points while doing only 3-of-12 from the field.
Slovenia is grouped with Cape Verde, Georgia and Venezuela. Their games will initially be played in Okinawa, Japan. The 2023 FIBA World Cup quarterfinals onwards will be played at the Mall of Asia located in Metro Manila, Philippines.
Meanwhile, Spain is bracketed with Iran, Ivory Coast and Brazil. They will play their group phase games in Jakarta, Indonesia
WATCH: Highlights of Luka Doncic's Triple-Double | Slovenia vs Montenegro
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