LIMASSOL (Cyprus) - The real ones do not take any games off, and that was the case for Croatia's captain Mario Hezonja, as his team stormed through to a comfortable 123-50 win over Cyprus.
It was the largest win registered in FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers history, edging out Australia's 72-point win over Guam, set just hours earlier.
The 31-year-old from Dubrovnik did a bit of everything to finish the game with 11 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, all done in 29 minutes of work to become the first player to record a triple-double in the FIBA Basketball World Cup European Qualifiers history in the current format.
Hezonja's heroics sent Croatia to 4-1 in Group E, setting the stage for a home game against Israel on Monday, earning his nation a chance to finish the First Round at 5-1 and edge closer to another World Cup appearance.
Croatia last made the trip to the summit in 2014.
It turned out we could've had a pair of triple-doubles just moments apart, after not witnessing any over the past nine years.
Estonia's Maik-Kalev Kotsar finished his game against Slovenia with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists, joining a long list of near misses in European Qualifiers history.
There's another Hezonja teammate on that list, as Jaleen Smith had 12 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists against Germany in Bonn earlier this year.
In March, Austria's Bogic Vujosevic had 15 points, 13 assists and 9 rebounds against the Netherlands, while Serbia's Stefan Miljenovic got the closest to a triple-double in the first window, 23 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds.
Back in February 2023, Johannes Voigtmann had 23 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists in Germany's win over Finland, while this list cannot be complete without Luka Doncic and his 21 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds against none other than the man we started this story about: Mario Hezonja and Croatia, back in July 2022.
FIBA