Luka Doncic receives praise for a nice gesture after win vs Cape Verde / News - Basketnews.com

Luka Doncic was praised by Cape Verde's head coach, Emanuel Trovoada, for giving away his jersey to him. Trovoada says it inspires Cape Verde to get better in the future.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

"This is mine," Cape Verde's head coach, Emanuel Trovoada, exclaimed, holding Luka Doncic's jersey following the loss against Slovenia.

Player of the Game EFF 25 Klemen Prepelic Points 18 Accuracy 6-11 Rebounds 4 Assists 7

Cape Verde battled Slovenia for the bigger portion of the game but, in the end, fell 77-92. The smallest FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 nation captured its first win ever on Monday. Doncic's gesture inspired Cape Verdeans to strive for even more.

"I would like to praise Luka's gesture," Trovoada revealed at the end of the press conference." He gave me his shirt at the end of the game. It shows his respect for a team like Cape Verde and its athletes. It also gives encouragement for us to get better so we could make such [World Cup] appearances in the future."

And Cape Verde fully deserved Luka's respect. Even though Doncic came close to the first triple-double in World Cup history, the Slovenian star went only 5 of 17 from the field, finishing the game with 19 points (4/9 2PT, 1/8 3PT, 8/11 FT), 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals, and 22 EFF.

As expected, Edy Tavares' presence in the paint was felt, as he successfully contested at least several of Doncic's shots.

"It was tough because Luka is a tall point guard, so he can see everything on the court," Tavares shared his experience guarding Doncic. "You think you can steal the ball sometimes, but it's tough because he controls every possession on the court."

"It was tough on the screens. If someone comes for help, you have [Doncic passing] to the corner. If you don't help, he'll find something to do," Tavares continued.

Nevertheless, Tavares was proud of his team effort against the Dallas Mavericks superstar.

"It was hard, but we did our job, which was trying our best to stop him. I think 19 points for Luka is like 5 points for us. We did our best," Tavares ended his answer with a huge smile.

Now, both teams go their separate ways. Slovenia, with a perfect 3-0 record, will try to clinch the quarterfinal berth, while Cape Verde continues to chase its Olympic Games dream and will play for 17th-32nd places in the competition.

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