Dario Saric notched a triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to power Croatia 108-92 over Slovenia, who missed their first 14 shots in the opening game at the FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament in Piraeus, Greece.
Luka Doncic had 26 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists only 15 days after losing the NBA Finals, but missed all 9 attempts from three-point range.
Croatia hit 59 percent from the field, including 13-of-28 from three. Slovenia made only 9-of-38 from beyond the arc.
FIBA reported that it was the first ever triple-double at the FIBA senior level for Saric. The 30-year old forward from Sibenik led Croatia during the FIBA U19 in Prague in 2013, and he was MVP of the FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament in Torino, Italy in 2016.
“When he’s playing the ‘four’ position with the ball in his hands and he’s creating, I consider him one of the best if not the best power forward in Europe,” said coach Josip Sesar, whose team scored the most points in Croatia’s history.
“He’s our leader on the court, our captain, our glue guy, who connects everything together,” said Croatia center Ivica Zubac, who had 18 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. ”He led us on out there, but this was nothing unusual that he did it.” Mario Hezonija, who played with Saric at FIBA U19, added 12 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds.
“Our defense was not good. We gotta work on our defense, starting with me,” said Doncic, according to FIBA. “We got to play with way better energy. My shots were terrible. I gotta play way better than this. There are gonna be injuries, but I just see a big honor to play for my country.”
Doncic also thanked the Dallas Mavericks for letting him play for Slovenia after leading the NBA in scoring.
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