Batum rejects Slovenia from reaching Olympic final / News - Basketnews.com

The 17-game winning streak came to an end as Slovenia lost to France 89-90 (29-27, 15-15, 21-29, 24-19) in the Tokyo Olympic semifinal.

Player of the Game EFF 23 Nando De Colo Points 25 Accuracy 8-17 Rebounds 7 Assists 5

Luka Doncic's triple-double did not help his team to reach the gold medal game. Instead, there will be Vincent Collet's men who will face Team USA (for the second time in Tokyo) in the Olympic final on Saturday.

Both teams started the game strong, exchanging buckets and seemingly playing without much nervousness, which could have been expected for a game of such magnitude. After two step-back 3-pointers from Luka Doncic Slovenia went ahead 20-14 halfway through the first quarter. On the other side, Luwawu-Cabarrot answered with two treys of his own and a fast-break layup cutting France's deficit to a minimum (27-29) at the end of the opening frame.

Unlike the first, the second quarter saw both teams struggling to find ways to the basket. It turned out that both squads managed to score only 15 points apiece. Towards the end of the quarter, Rudy Gobert had his highlight moment of the game by posterizing Tobey. The Utah Jazz center received the ball at the top of the key, took few dribbles, and jammed over Slovenian opponent with authority. However, Slovenia held onto a narrow two-point advantage going into halftime (44:42).

The second half was when one of the teams managed to build a sizeable lead. The French started by making three shots from the deep, De Colo added 6 points, Huertel made a layup giving his team the biggest lead of the game 69-59. Slovenia called a timeout and were able to crawl their way back into the game, as Hrovar and Blazic dropped two 3-point shots. However, Slovenia's momentum was slowed by Gober’s impressive block on Cancar’s dunk attempt (65-71).

Slovenia / Schedule

Spain Slovenia87-95 Slovenia Germany94-70 France Slovenia90-89 Slovenia AustraliaSat11:00

Jaka Blazic started the final quarter the same as he ended the third, with a 3-pointer, thus, closing the margin. Fournier responded with five points in a row to keep France in front. Halfway through the quarter, Mike Tobey stepped up with an alley-oop dunk and layup after his own offensive rebound, tying the game at 78-78.

The last three minutes were spectacular with both teams exchanging the buckets. At the start of the last minute, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot made a crucial 3-pointer to give his team a 5-point lead (85-90). On the other side, Prepelic made a free throw, added a 3-pointer, and reduced Slovenia's deficit to one point. The last possession was in the hands of Slovenia, Luka Doncic passed the ball to Prepelic, who drove under the basket for a final winning shot. But the French veteran Nicola Batum came out flying from behind and blocked Prepelic's attempt sending his country to their 3rd Olympic final.

Slovenia: Mike Tobey 23 (8/9 2PT, 2/5 3PT, 8 REB, 25 EFF), Klemen Prepelic 17 (4/6 2PT, 2/6 3PT), Luka Doncic 16 (3/9 2PT, 2/9 3PT, 10 REB, 18 AST, 27 EFF), Jaka Blazic 14 (4/8 2PT, 2/7 3PT).

France: Nando De Colo 25 (5/12 2PT, 3/5 3PT, 7 REB, 5 ASS, 23 EFF), Evan Fournier 23 (4/10 2PT, 4/6 3PT), Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot 15 (3/6 2PT, 3/4 3PT, 14 EFF).

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