The Canadian basketball team beat Slovenia, captained to the quarterfinals by Luka Dončić, with a score of 100-89 to get the last ticket in dispute to the semifinals. In another duel of the day, Germany ended the illusion of Latvia by winning 81 by 79.
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Luka Dončić and Spanish center Willy Hernangómez enjoy a good friendship. Both shared in Real Madrid Basketball before the Spaniard made the leap to the NBA at the end of the 2016 season.
Additionally, when the Slovenian was on the radar of the teams considered to be the best basketball in the world, Willy was his best representative: “he is very intelligent, he can shoot and he will improve his physical condition because he is very young. All European NBA players are waiting to see him play here,” the center told Marca newspaper in 2018, while the Slovenian tried to return the favor when Hernangómez was left without a team in the United States and asked the Dallas management sign him, but the Iberian accepted an offer that will take him back to Spain.
Canada’s defeat of Spain in the second round was an incentive for Dončić ahead of the game against the Americans. On this, the Spanish outlet ‘Don Balón’ highlights the closeness of the Slovenian with many of the members of the quintet led by Sergio Scariolo.
But Canada did not want to wake up from the dream, which already has them among the best four quintets of the tournament, and led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they headed for a victory and a place in the semifinals.
Once again, the Oklahoma City Thunders guard was the best of the match by sealing a double – double after scoring 31 points and getting 10 rebounds.
For its part, the Slovenian team had its best offensive figure in Luka Dončić, who scored 26 points but could not finish the game due to accumulating a second technical foul with 6:37 remaining in the last quarter to play.
a misleading result
Although the game ended with a difference of 11 points in favor of the Canadians, with a greater difference of 17 points in a section of the commitment, the game was very disputed to the point of ending the first half with a tie on the score at 50 points. .
However, for the second half, the strategy of the Canadian coach, the Spanish Jordi Fernández, was clear and he ordered Dillon Brooks the task of stopping Dončić and, at times, even establishing a double mark against the Dallas Mavericks player.
The result of such an execution was that, although Brooks left the game due to two technical fouls, Dončić was only able to add nine points between the third quarter and the little he played in the last period.
With this scenario, Canada focused could be more collective in their plays since not only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued adding points but also RJ” Barrett, Kelly Olynyk and Brooks himself, while he was on the court, were able to collaborate to make a difference on offense .
Given the difficulty in scoring, and the subsequent departure of Dončić, Valencia Basket point guard Klemen Prepelic took the offensive reins for Slovenia, but the lack of support from the rest of his teammates prevented a better result for the Europeans.
The result forces Slovenia and Dončić to seek a place in Paris 2024 through the Olympic repechages that will take place next year.
The Olympic team of Germany ended the debut of Latvia in the tournament
In another duel of the day, Germany beat Latvia 81-79 to ensure, in addition to the pass to the semifinal for the second time in its history, the last ticket at stake for next year’s Olympic Games.
The commitment was difficult for the two quintets throughout its duration, since it presented 15 changes of leadership and on seven occasions it was tied.
Latvia outperformed Germany in terms of two-point shots, with 51.6% accuracy against 40.5% for the Germans, and they dominated the shot from 6.75 meters with a percentage of 38.2% over 30.8% of Germans.
However, Germany’s experience came to the fore in aspects such as: turnover points, where Germany had 13 points, second chance points – Germany got 20 against eight of the Latvians – and bench points. with Germany getting 44 for just six of the former Soviets.
For Germany, Orlando Magic guard Franz Wagner was the best, scoring 16 points. Latvia had their best offensive figure in Artūrs Žagars, who finished with 24 points.
Next matches – semifinal round
Friday, September 8: Serbia vs. Canada
United States vs. Germany
Source: FIBA
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