Second win for Slovenia, Croatia is already in EuroBasket 2022

On Sunday, the Slovenian national team recorded its second victory in the second qualifying round for EuroBasket 2022 on the Stožice floor. The Slovenes defeated Austria with the score 77:64 and completely opened the door to the European Championships. Croatia has already secured its place at EuroBasket, beating Sweden with 87:72 in Istanbul on Sunday with five points by Roko Leni Ukić.

Slovenia successfully concluded the second qualification cycle for EuroBasket 2022 with Jaka Blažič, Edo Murić, Alen Hodžić and Luka Bassin, who represent Cedevita Olimpija in the Slovenian national team won against the Austrian national team (77:64). If Ukraine beats Austria on Monday in the last game of the Stožice bubble, Slovenians will secure their place in EuroBasket 2022.

The Croatian national team secured its place at EuroBasket 2022 in Istanbul on Sunday. The Croatians celebrated their fourth consecutive victory, this time beating Sweden 87:72. Roko Leni Ukić, who is the captain of the Croatian national team, scored five points, five assists and one rebound.

In the second qualifying cycle, we should not neglect the good games of Marko Simonović, who is on loan at Mega Soccerbet for the second season in a row as a loan player for Cedevita Olimpija. Simonovic defeated Germany 80:74 with the Montenegrin national team on Friday, scoring eight points and five rebounds. On Sunday, the Montenegrins were unfortunately not successful against Great Britain (59:74), and this time Marko finished the game with 14 points and eight rebounds.

The Slovenian national team with Jaka Blažič, Edo Murić and Alen Hodžić will step on the floor on Sunday at 20.10 and clash with Austria in Stožice.

Sunday evening of basketball reached its peak with Slovenia’s win over Austria. Slovenians were lead to the 77:64 victory by Dragons Jaka Blažič, Edo Murič, and Alen Hodžić. Slovenian squad was back on the floor of Arena Stožice less than 24 hours after their game against Ukraine which Austrians used to their advantage as they opened the game with a 6:0 lead. 2017 European Champions quickly took the game under control and won the first half by 25 points. In the second part of the match, the hosts of the Ljubljana bubble slowed down a bit but were able to bring the game to a calm finish. The clash in Stožice finished 77:64 in favor of Aleksander Sekulić’s squad.

Cedevita Olimpija players that put on the national team jersey once again showed great performances in round five of the EuroBasket 2022 qualifications. Jaka Blažič lead the team with 16 points. Edo Murić scored nine points and Alen Hodžić added six, both of them contributing their scoring from behind the three point line.

Edo Murić, player of Cedevite Olimpije in Slovenia National Team:
“I am really happy that we won. Back-to-back games are tough to play, especially when you play against physically strong opponents. Our goal was to not let them outrebound us and we were successful in that. I am really glad that we accomplished our goal which was to win two games and I can not wait for the next international break.”

EUROBASKET 2022 QUALIFIERS, 2^ND CYCLE

GROUP F (Arena Stožice, Ljubljana; Slovenia)

ROUND 5

Sunday, November 29:
AUSTRIA – SLOVENIA 64:77 (12:20, 13:30, 15:11, 24:16)

STATISTICS

Jaka Blažič (Slovenia) – 28 minutes, 16 points (3/4 for two, 3/7 for three, 1/2 FT), 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 3 turnovers.
Edo Murić (Slovenia) – 26 minutes, 9 points (0/2 for two, 3/8 for three), 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 turnovers.
Alen Hodžić (Slovenia) – 13 minutes, 6 points (2/3 for three).

GROUP D (Sinan Erdem Arena, Istanbul; Turkey)

ROUND 4

Sunday, November 29:
SWEDEN – CROATIA 72:87 (16:22, 15:26, 22:20, 19:19)

STATISTICS

Roko Leni Ukić (Croatia) – 16 minutes, 5 points (1/1 for two, 1/4 for three), 1 rebound and 5 assists.