EUROBASKET 2017 FINAL
The final EuroBasket 2017 took place in Instanbul, Turkey. It was in Sinan Erdem Dome which accepts 16 000 viewers.
24 teams cooperated at the European championship, but only Slovenia and Serbia came to the final of Eurobasket. Slovenian national team played all nine matches very well. In the final game Slovenia left as the only team which never lost the game.
The final game was very tense. All Slovenian players played very well, especially Goran Dragić and Luka Dončić and also Klemen Prepelič. But also Serbian players were excellent. The final result was 85-93 for Slovenia. So we won for 8 points, but to the last 2 minutes we didn’t know which team will win.
Ana Mlinar, 9.a
Eurobasket 2017
Eurobasket 2017 started on 31st August and it took place in Istanbul. Slovenia`s first opponent was Poland which lost by 9 points.
And then the wins kept coming. Slovenia was unbeaten till the end of group phase. We then qualified to the round of 16 and our next opponent was Ukraine which we won by an astonishing 24 points. In quarter-finals our opponent was Latvia with which Slovenia has a bad history as we had never won against it as an independent country. The game was very close but in the end Slovenia won for 6 points and the MVP in that game was the 18-year-old Luka Dončič who scored 27 points. After that game we were getting close to a medal but we didn’t know which color it would be. The next opponent was Spain which after the win against Latvia we thought wasn’t as challenging as Latvia. And we were right because we beat it for 20 points. At that moment we already knew we were getting a medal, but could we make it gold, that was all in the finals. In the finals Slovenia had a big chance of winning as most of the key Serbian players were injured. The finals were important for Slovenia as it would be the first win in Eurobasket for Slovenia. There were over 6000 Slovenian fans in the arena in Istanbul. The rest watched the game either at home, cinema or even at some stadiums. The game was very close but in the end we won for 8 points. The MVP of the final was Goran Dragič who scored 35 points. Everyone was happy. The first medal for Slovenia and it was gold too.
Aljaž Škufca
EUROBASKET 2017
This Eurobasket was very important for Slovenia. We won after 25 long years and it was also the first victory on European competitions in team sports. When we beat Spain I knew that we are going to be champions. We beat Spain for 20 points. Then we just needed the final victory against Serbia and we did it. It was a very stressful match, but I’m happy that we achieved such an awesome thing. I’m so proud of our boys. Serbia got the first quarter, the second and the third was ours as well as the victory. The incredibly tall player Marjanović was not as good as he was against other teams they played. We were also the only ones who didn’t lose any of the matches. The best players of the match were Goran Dragić, Bogdan Bogdanović, Luka Dončić and Klemen Prepelič. Prepelič amazed us with his awesome accuracy – he hit a lot of awesome shots for three points. Luka Dončić hurt his ankle. And Dragić was very tired at the end so he didn’t play the last few minutes. In the end Serbia got very close and they even took the lead for a point, but we didn’t give up, we fought through the whole match and we didn’t go any slower, we just wanted that victory. I was pretty amazed because at first when Eurobasket 2017 started, I thought it’s going to be like any other Eurobasket but I was wrong. Just believe and work as hard as you can and you will be amazed like the whole Slovenia was.
Here I also have the link to the video I made about Eurobasket: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB65zSKS3uk
Klei Nagode, 9. a
Eurobasket 2017
Eurobasket 2017 was between 31 August and 17 September 2017. Slovenia became the Eurobasket 2017 Champions on Sunday.
Slovenia won their first tournament. The team of Slovenia came to the finals and played with Serbia. Slovenia had only one NBA player, Goran Dragić. Dragic scored all of his 35 points in the first three quarters. The best player for Slovenia is Goran Dragić. He scored 42% of three points. That tournament was very hard for Slovenia. They won without a defeat. They won all nine matches. They won against Latvia 103-97 but it was hard and tense. They also beat Spain 92-72. It was an unexpected victory. They celebrated the greatest success of the Slovenian team sport in all its history in the Sinan Erdem hall with 7000 Slovenes. People were crazy with excitement. They were hugging and jumping, dancing and shouting: Who does not jump is not Slovenian.
I am very proud of the Slovenian team.
Dejan Savić, 9. a
FIBA EUROBASKET 2017 FINALS
SLOVENIA VS SERBIA
This years FIBA Eurobasket 2017 finals were on the 17th of September 2017 at 21:30 in Istanbul. The game was very intense, specially the fourth quarter. By the second haft time Slovenia was in the lead by 9 points. In the third quarter Slovenian team member Luka Dončić injured his ankle and couldn’t play for the rest of the game. Because of that Slovenia lost one of their best players. Serbians had the chance to catch up and three minutes to the end the game was tied, but Slovenian team gave their best and won the finals 93 – 85. Slovenian captain Goran Dragić, also known as “the dragon”, was the top performer of the game with incredible 35 points,
7 rebounds, 7 steals and 2 blocks making him the most valuable player of FIBA Eurobasket 2017.
Lina Pakiž, 9.a
EUROBASKET 2017
Last night all the Slovenian people were nervously watching the Eurobasket final game between Slovenia and Serbia, the majority in the comfortable positions on their sofas, but also a lot of people went to Istanbul to support our team. The game was amazing, full of surprising moments and intense until the end. Players had some troubles in the middle of the game, but that didn’t stop them and they did all that one possibly can. The team coach Igor Kokoškov stood calm and supported the players in an amazing way.
In the second quarter, Dragić made a special effort with winning a huge amount of points and Slovenia took the lead. But the team had some troubles in the third. The 18-year-old Luka Dončić injured himself and had to finish playing. A few minutes later our captain Dragić was suffering from bad cramps because he spent so much energy during the game. He left the game and Slovenia was playing without the best two players during the last minutes. But the other players proved that they can handle the situation and that they can all play very well. They forget all the troubles in the end when they won and became the European champions. They also became the first unbeaten team since the Lithuania team in 2003.
They were all extremely happy and Slovenians all around the country were celebrating the victory. Luka Dončić and Goran Dragić also joined the All-Star Five and Dragić became the most valuable player of Eurobasket 2017. This is absolutely one of the most important evenings for our country and there are also some rumours that the 17th September should become the celebration day.
Zala Stražišar, 9.a
EUROBASKET 2017
(Slovenian perspective)
Eurobasket 2017 started on 31st August. Slovenia probably had the best team in Slovenian history. They started confidently and beat Poland with 90:81.
Goran Dragić had a good impact on the team’s play and they won another game against Finland with 81:78. That was a really important victory because Finland beat the favourites France.
On the wings of Luka Dončić Slovenia beat Greece with 78:72. They showed smart play and a connection between the members of the team especially between Luka Dončić and Goran Dragić. They became one of the teams who have high chance to score the medal.
Slovenia then destroyed Island with 102:75 and the coach Igor Kokoškov could give some rest to his main players and prepare them for the next game against France.
Nobody expected that Slovenia would beat France with so much lead and absolute dominance on the court. France players were upset and they did not find a way out and they lost with 95:78.
Slovenia was first in their group and they played against Ukraine. They won with a lot of lead and they had a lot of time to recover from the hard tempo of the championship. Early of the first game against Ukraine helped a lot with that because they had a tricky opponent – Latvia.
Latvian players are known as perfect shooters from a long distance and they have one of the best centres, Kristaps Porzingis. He is 2.18 metres tall but he can still score three pointers. Anyway, Slovenia beat Latvia in an exciting end of the game with 103:97.
Slovenia played next game vs Spain which was the European champion in 2013 and 2015. Slovenia beat Spain with 20 points of lead and that was the biggest loss of Spain against non-USA team.
On the other side of the bracket Serbia beat all teams and defeated Russia which beat them in the group in semi-final.
Slovenia lead from 5th minute to 27th minute. Luka Dončić fell weirdly and he injured himself. Slovenia took the lead back in 33rd minute and saved it until the end. They won the first gold European team trophy and defeated their big Yugoslavian rival.
Luka Stražišar, 9.a