Goran Dragic and Luka Doncic were unstoppable offensively and helped Slovenia survive an overtime thriller vs Turkey in a preparation game at Sinan Erdem Dome (103-104).
The star duo of the reigning champions combined for 51 points, with Goran Dragic scoring 28 points and the game-winning shot and Doncic adding 23 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. On the other hand, Furkan Korkmaz was impressive and led all scorers with 33 points.
After a hard-fought battle in the first half, the Slovenians led by 13 and were in control in the third (62-75). Yet, the Turks made a wild comeback in the fourth, outscoring their opponents 28-15 and forcing an overtime after a Korkmaz’s two-pointer.
In the extra period, the hosts took the upper hand (100-95), but Goran Dragic turned things around and hit the game winner for Slovenia, which closed the matchup on a 3-9 run to seal the deal.
Slovenia and Turkey will end their preparation next week ahead of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers (August 24-28) and the FIBA EuroBasket (September 1-18).
Turkey will face Latvia on the road on August 25 and will then host Serbia on August 28 in the Second Round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers.
They will then travel to Tbilisi for the group stage of the EuroBasket. They will take on Montenegro, Georgia, Spain, Bulgaria and Belgium in Group A.
On the other hand, Slovenia will face Eastonia (August 25) and Germany (August 28) in the tip-off of the Second Round of the Basketball World Cup Qualifiers.
They will then travel to Cologne in late August and will take on Lithuania, Hungary, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Germany, and France in the group stage of the EuroBasket (Group B).
Give us overtime, our captain will give you this 🐲🔥🇸🇮.@Goran_Dragic@TelemachSi @IFeelSloveniaSi pic.twitter.com/9uR2UuHGiC
— Košarkarska zveza SIovenije (@kzs_si) August 12, 2022
