Slovenia's coach: 'We talked more with referees than with our game' / News - Basketnews.com

Slovenia's head coach Aleksander Sekulic blamed his players for talking with referees too much and giving up, while at the same time admitted that the loss against Germany is going to be beneficial ahead of EuroBasket 2022.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Germany handed Slovenia its first defeat this summer today by comfortably beating them in front of a home crowd in Munich.

Player of the Game EFF 22 Johannes Voigtmann Points 11 Accuracy 4-9 Rebounds 14 Assists 2

Slovenian players looked slow and uncoordinated at times, and their head coach Aleksander Sekulic was quick to point out the flaws in the post-game press conference.

"A tough defeat, especially in the last game before EuroBasket. A lot didn't work, especially the energy. We just gave up, while the Germans played very physically, on the verge of a personal foul, and we didn't react," the specialist told. "We talked more with the referees than we did with our game, which cost us in the end."

"This match was simply one of the worse, we have to draw a line and learn something. We have to give our maximum in every match, regardless of the opponent," Sekulic continued. "A lot went wrong. We lost an important match, on the other hand, it had to happen before the EuroBasket if we want to be successful."

Only two players scored in double digits with Luka Doncic scoring 23 and Mike Tobey providing 12 points. Overall, Germany won the rebounding battle 56 to 27 and did not allow Slovenia to score a single second-chance point in the entire match.

Goran Dragic noticeably struggled, especially during the first half when he missed all of his shots and had a PIR of -5. Late in the match, the Chicago Bulls guard picked up a technical foul after an unsuccessful episode on the offensive end.

Both Slovenia and Germany are placed in Group B of EuroBasket 2022 together with Lithuania, France, Hungary, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The two teams will meet again on September 6th in Round 4 of the Group Phase.

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