Klemen Prepelic returned to Slovenian NT in preparation opener / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AP - Scanpix Credit AP - Scanpix

The Slovenian national team tipped off its preparation games ahead of the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers and the 2022 EuroBasket by beating the Netherlands 83-76 (21-25, 18-17, 20-15, 24-19).

Slovenia had a better second half to win the close contest. Ziga Dimec's 3-point play gave Slovenia a crucial 5-point lead (78-73) with 1:35 left in the game and eventually, the hosts closed out the game.

For most of the game, the Netherlands had a few point advantage, that they have gained in the first quarter, until Robert Jurkovic's 3-pointer tied the game (57-57) with 1:05 left in the third quarter.

The Netherlands started the game stronger and managed to gain an 8-point lead (5-13) in the first quarter after Yannick Franke's 3-pointer with 6:03 left in the first quarter.

Valencia Basket guard Klemen Prepelic returned to the court after a long absence due to injury. Prepelic underwent season-ending surgery to repair a broken arm and hasn't played since March. It was expected that he would not join the national team this summer, but his rehabilitation progressed better than expected.

Prepelic was a key contributor for Slovenia in the 2017 EuroBasket, averaging 13.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists to help his team win the gold medal.

Luka Doncic, Goran Dragic, and Mike Tobey did not play yet for Slovenia.

For Slovenia Ziga Dimec had 12 points (4/9 2PT, 4/4 FT), 6 rebounds, and 1 assist.

Worthy De Jong led the Dutch side with 26 points (4/5 2PT, 6/10 3PT), 7 rebounds, and 1 assist.

Slovenia: Ziga Dimec 12 (7 REB), Klemen Prepelic 11 (5 REB),Aleksej Nikolic 10,Gregor Hrovat 10;

Netherlands:Worthy De Jong 26 (7 REB), Keye van der Vuurst de Vries 11 (7 AST), Quinter Post 9 (7 REB).

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