SLO - National team wins three

CELJE (EuroBasket/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - There is a lot at stake for Slovenian basketball this summer.

The country is hosting the EuroBasket, a tournament that gets underway on 4 September in the cities of Ljubljana, Jesenice, Celje and Koper, and the national side is looking to capture a medal in the event for the first time.

But there is something else.

Slovenia will at bare minimum want to finish in the top six to qualify for the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.

Should two-time defending champions Spain have a EuroBasket finish in the first six, Slovenia would need a top seven place to clinch its spot in next year's hoops extravaganza.

The Slovenians played at the 2006 and 2010 FIBA World Championships, reaching the Quarter-Finals in the latter, and do not plan on missing 2014.

Over the weekend, the national team defeated Latvia, Serbia and Turkey in a warm-up tournament in Celje.

Though the games were friendly encounters, tempers flared early in the meeting with Turkey, with Slovenia's NBA guard Goran Dragic and the visitors' Dogus Balbay ejected after an altercation.

Bozidar Maljkovic, the coach of Slovenia, has seen his share of fracases over the years and spoke about the Dragic/Balbay incident after his team's 72-53 triumph.

"I'm sorry for the incident with Dragic, but these are things that happen in sports," he said.

"Both players then quickly calmed down and parted amicably."

As for the overall performance of Slovenia, he knows the friendly games mean nothing.

"The balance of power was not realistic," he said.

"Both Serbia and Turkey will perform with much stronger teams at the European Championship."

Slovenia beat Serbia, 67-52.

"Probably only Latvia in this tournament has shown its value in real terms," Maljkovic said.

The Slovenians won 71-67 over Latvia.

"The tournament at the end of next week in Belgrade will give a truer picture," Maljkovic said.

"Therefore the team is not euphoric, because all players are aware that we are not even halfway through the preparation."

At the EuroBasket, Slovenia will take on Spain, Georgia, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Poland.

FIBA