ESP/SLO - Slovenia looking at bigger picture

KAUNAS (Eurobasket 2011) – Fans waiting to see just how good Spain really are may have to wait a few more days yet with Slovenia suggesting their thoughts are already focused beyond their Quarter-Final on Thursday evening.
 
In the press conference following their 67-60 victory over Finland, Slovenian centre Uros Slokar looked ahead to the game and said: “We will see what happens. If they are better than us and they win, they win. Now the daily form comes into play a lot. We will see how we will react, but obviously our goal sits somewhere else.”

Talking to FIBA on a separate occasion, Slokar suggested that the goal is qualifying for the Olympics via the qualifying tournament and that the team needs to look past their impending contest.

Slovenian head coach Bozidar Maljkovic avoided answering questions about a Semi-Final clash or expanding on Slokar’s comments and said he was not ready to discuss what will happen in the next round until Slovenia got to Kaunas.

However, this does not mean that Spain show any complacency.

If the Slovenian team is just aiming to finish anywhere between third and sixth to claim a spot in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, they will be entering the Spanish game with the weight of expectation off their shoulders and playing with a nothing-to-lose attitude, something Spain acknowledge and are wary of.
 
“They [Slovenia] arrived at the Quarter-Finals and now they are here they have nothing to lose”, Spanish swingman Fernando San Emeterio said ahead of the encounter.

“They can play without pressure and they will be trying to go to the Semi-Finals and if they do it that would be unbelievable for them.

"We have to be ready for this and stop it.”

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