Blažič, Murić and Hodžić overtook Ukraine with Slovenia

In the Arena Stožice, the Slovenian men’s national team started the second cycle of qualifiers  for EuroBasket 2022 excellently. Slovenia defeated Ukraine in the third round of qualifications.

With the victory against Ukraine on the Stožice court, the Slovenian national team opened the second cycle of qualifications for EuroBasket 2022 and thus opened the door to the European Championship, which will take place in two years. After 40 minutes of play, the scoreboard in the largest Slovenian sports hall pointed 84:73 in favor of Slovenia.

The squad with the Slovenian coat of arms on its chest started the match enthusiastically and after only a few minutes of play gained the advantage with 24: 2. In the same rhythm, the Slovenian basketball players continued the duel with the Ukrainians and after a triple by Jake Blažič they were already leading by 31 points (42:11). Subsequently, the Ukrainian national team slightly reduced the gap, so the Slovenians took 22 points (50:28) at the main break, but with the aggressive game of the Slovenian national team in defense and imaginative game in attack, the victory of the current European champions was never threatened.

Three Dragons also proved themselves with very good performances. Jaka Blažič was the best scorer of the Slovenian national team with 23 points, and with 10 rebounds he registered a double-double. Edo Murić scored 10 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Alen Hodžić finished the game with nine points.

On Sunday, Slovenia will face Austria, and Roko Leni Ukić will face Sweden with Croatia in Istanbul.

EUROBASKET 2022 QUALIFIERS, 2ND CYCLE

GROUP F (Arena Stožice, Ljubljana; Slovenia)

ROUND 3

Saturday, November 28:
SLOVENIA – UKRAINE 84:73 (33:9, 17:19, 13:19, 21:26)

STATISTIKA

Jaka Blažič (Slovenia) – 30 minutes, 23 points (5/9 2P FG, 2/7 3P FG, 7/0 FT), 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 4 turnovers.
Edo Murić (Slovenia) – 29 minutes, 10 points (2/5 2P FG, 1/5 3P FG, 3/3 FT), 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 turnover.
Alen Hodžić (Slovenia) – 14 minutes, 9 points (0/1 2P FG, 3/7 3P FG).

ROUND 5

Sunday, November 29, at 20.10:
AUSTRIA – SLOVENIA

GROUP D (Sinan Erdem Arena, Istanbul; Turkey)

ROUND 4

Sunday, November 29, at 18.00:
SWEDEN – CROATIA