Slovenia survive Ukraine's comeback in Istanbul, as star players take a break / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Without their star players Luka Doncic and Goran Dragic, Slovenia took a hard-fought victory over highly competitive Ukraine in Istanbul by 86-82 (22-16, 18-16, 21-22, 25-28).

On August 17 (20:15 CEST), Slovenia will take on Serbia in their next friendly game in Ljubljana, aiming to make it 5-0 in their pre-EuroBasket outings.

On the other hand, Ukraine will face Finland in Helsinki on August 18 (17:30 CEST). That's their last game before they play the two 2023 World Cup qualifying contests against Italy and Iceland on 24 and 27 August.

Five players scored in double digits for the winning side. Zoran Dragic, Aleksej Nikolic and Jaka Blazic scored 13 points apiece, while Mike Tobey and Edo Muric followed with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

For Ukraine, Issuf Sanon put up 18 and Alex Len another 15 points for a squad that played without leading figures Svi Mykhailiuk and Volodymyr Gerun.

Although Slovenia were leading for the most part, Ukraine managed to bounce back in the fourth quarter, take a three-point lead (76-73) with less than four minutes left, and pose a real threat to the reigning European champions.

Nevertheless, Aleksander Sekulic's team reacted when things started going south. Edo Muric tied the game at 76 with a three-point shot and Jaka Blazic, Aleksej Nikolic made it an eight-point game completing a 0-11 run for the former Yugoslav Republic.

Credit Slovenian Basketball Federation

Ukraine: Issuf Sanon 18 (7/15 FG, 1/1 FT, 5 REB, 2 AST), Oleksii Len 15 (6/12 FG, 2/2 FT, 6 REB, 3 TO), Dmytro Skapintsev 10 (3/5 FG, 3/7 FT, 8 REB), Denys Lukashov 9.

Slovenia: Zoran Dragic 13 (5/9 FG, 1/1 FT, 6 REB, 2 AST), Aleksej Nikolic 13 (4/5 FG, 2/2 FT, 3 AST), Jaka Blazic 13 (4/13 FG, 3/4 FT), Mike Tobey 12 (4/9 FG, 2/4 FT, 7 REB), Edo Muric 10.

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