BERLIN (Germany) - Slovenia avoided a major upset with a strong fourth quarter in an 88-72 victory over Belgium, sending the reigning champions into the Quarter-Finals of the FIBA EuroBasket 2022.

The crowd of 9,774 spectators at the EuroBasket Arena Berlin saw Belgium give Slovenia everything they could take for three quarters. In the end though it was more Luka Doncic history that made the difference.

 
Turning Point: Slovenia built an 11-point first quarter lead and watched as Belgium neared to within two points - 29-27 - and trailed just 44-41 at the break. The underdogs were not ready to die and stayed close in the third quarter and even pulled ahead 64-63 in the final frame. The game was even 65-65 with under 9 minutes to play when Slovenia took control with a 17-0 run to blow the game wide open. 

TCL Player of the Game: No surprise here: Luka Doncic has been a force of nature all tournament and the NBA superstar carried his team with 35 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Doncic became the first player to score 30+ points in three consecutive EuroBasket games in the last 30 years.

Stats Don't Lie: Slovenia committed only 6 turnovers compared to 13 for Belgium while the Balkan side made 23-of-25 free throws to just 7-of-8 for the Belgians.

Bottom Line: Slovenia are just three steps from defending their title and have guaranteed a Top 8 spot in the EuroBasket for the seventh time in the last eight editions, Next up will be the winner between Urkaine and Poland on Wednesday, September 14.

They Said: "Every time we made a run, they came back - mostly because of our mistakes. We have to give credit to them. Also, they shot the ball well. I think in the second half we made some adjustments, especially the defense was much better and also they missed some open shots. So it gave us the boost and the lead to finish the game peacefully." - Slovenia coach Aleksander Sekulic

"Belgium were playing great basketball. We knew it was going to be a hard game. They were fighting until the end, but in the end I think we played a little better. We had a great run in the fourth and congrats to Belgium on the game they did. They were fighting great but you know it was a hard game and we won." - Luka Doncic, Slovenia

"Very, very proud of our group, of the guys. They deserve much better. We competed for 32 minutes, we took a lead 65-64. Two mistakes of ours were punished on the other side for five points. I am proud of the group. We need to take good things from this EuroBasket and look how to further develop on the right level." - Belgium coach Dario Gjergja

"It was a tale of two halves. In the first half we were able to compete despite some of the offensive shot making on the other side. Towards the end of the game, especially in the fourth quarter, we weren't able to maintain our defensive principles, defensive discipline. And that's what eventually cost us the game. However, I am proud of all the guys, the staff, some of the things we have done over the last couple of weeks. We have to take this, learn and move forward." - Retin Obasohan, Belgium

 
FIBA