Goran Dragic to make his Slovenian NT comeback during WC qualifiers / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AFP – Scanpix Credit AFP – Scanpix

Goran Dragic is expected to make his return to the Slovenian national team in the World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers, according to BasketNews sources.

Goran Dragic

Team:Brooklyn NetsPosition:PG, SGAge:36Height:191 cmWeight:86 kgBirth place:Ljubljana, SloveniaProfileNewsStatistics

The 36-year-old guard will play against Croatia in the upcoming FIBA window (June 30), which is set to be Dragic's last dance in the NT.

AsSportKlub reports, Goran Dragic is not willing to compete in the upcoming EuroBasket 2022.

Slovenia is set to begin its national team preparations in the coming weeks.

They will host Croatia on June 30 in Ljubljana before heading to Stockholm to take on Sweden in their final game of the First Round with the top three teams in the group advancing to the Second Round, which is due to begin in August.

Slovenia sits second in Group C with 2 victories and 2 defeats. With a win against Croatia, they would secure a place in the next stage.

Group C

Pos Team GM W L HW HL PPG PPG A Diff STR L5 1 Finland 4 3 1 2 0 77.0 74.5 2.5 +3 +++- 2 Slovenia 4 2 2 1 1 81.3 83.0 -1.8 -2 --++ 3 Sweden 4 2 2 1 1 82.3 81.3 1 -1 -+-+ 4 Croatia 4 1 3 0 2 78.5 80.3 -1.8 +1 +---

After WC qualifiers, the focus then switches to EuroBasket for the start of September. Slovenia will be based in Cologne for the initial group phase as they face France, Lithuania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, and the hosts, Germany, from September 1-7, 2022.

The last time Goran Dragic represented the Slovenian jersey was back in 2017, when he navigated his country to the EuroBasket gold.

He scored 35 points in the grand final, which was the most points scored in the ultimate match since Pau Gasol dropped 36 points in 2003 final.

Following his performance, Dragic was given the MVP award of the tournament, after averaging 22.6 points per game over 9 duels.

As it was announced yesterday, Luka Doncic plans to help the Slovenian national team in EuroBasket 2022.

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