Slovenia’s training session at the Martín Carpena in Málaga ends as a close match would. There are no plays or blackboard. Ball for the monster Luka Doncic. His teammates clear up while the point guard moves the ball from hand to hand with an elegance that freezes the eye. All those present, the majority of the Balkan press, take out their cell phones because you rarely see a unicorn on a basketball court. Step back and triple with the defender on top, his classic move. This time, the result is not as expected. The ball turns to stone when it hits the backboard forcefully. Doncic, slightly disappointed, turns around and makes a dissatisfied face. After an incredible shooting session (he makes 17 of 20 long-range shots) he retires to the bench while the rest of the Slovenians finish practice.
Already in flip flops, he talks to some members of the coaching staff, goes out to shout “Slovenia” along with the rest of the players and then receives an individual talk from the coach Aleksander Sekulic. Luka seems to like what he hears, because he nods serenely. Laughter and to the locker room. This is Luka Doncic in short distances, one of the best players in the world who, tonight (9:30 p.m., TVE) measures the Spanish team in the first game of the centenary tournament of the Spanish Basketball Federation.
Spared no expense Jorge Garbajosa and his team and to celebrate 100 years of the FEB, he has brought the best of the best to Malaga. Despite the fact that Sunday’s game against the United States attracts all eyes, Doncic is the great attraction of this triangle. The Slovenian returns to the national team after a disappointing NBA season (collectively, because individually he once again touched the outstanding level with 32.4 points per game) and becomes the first test of height for Spain, which needs to see how they are doing the spirits after passing by Ricky Rubio’s side to take care of his mental health.
“Stopping Doncic is not an individual matter, it is a collective mission,” acknowledges Joel Parra, a player from the national team and a brilliant new Barcelona player, when asked by ABC about how a player of the Balkan category is stopped. It is not the first time that Spain suffers its bites. In it Eurobasket de 2017, the national team was crushed by Slovenia in the semifinals (72-92). Luka scored 11 points and, at that time in the role of Goran Dragic’s squire (he was only 19 years old), led Slovenia to proclaim itself king of Europe despite being a country of just over two million inhabitants. First warning that became a real danger at the Tokyo Olympics, in 2021.
Spain needed a win to avoid the United States until the final, but a terrific performance from the point guard (12 points, 14 rebounds and 9 assists) sent the team down a winding road, and they were crushed by the North Americans in the quarterfinals. . Today is a friendly, but a whole test for the World Cup, in which their paths could cross again in the path of medals.
Wish for revenge
If in Malaga the festive atmosphere rules, the city anxious to kick off its prestigious Fair and to see good basketball, Doncic breaks that smile. “I disappointed all of Slovenia, it was my fault,” he recently acknowledged at a press conference. Doncic refers to the past Eurobasket, a tournament in which he masterfully led his country (47 points against France, for example) until the Balkans crashed in the quarterfinals against Polanda much inferior selection in terms of talent.
A wound that still bleeds in the star’s bowels and that forces him to always return with his team, an unusual decision in other NBA stars. “It’s been a long summer, but I’m so happy to be back on track. I haven’t played since April, I’m looking forward to it. The goal is always the same. When I go to a championship, what I want is to win it.” Get ready Malaga, a monster is on the loose.
2023-08-10 19:41:43
#Luka #Doncic #monster #Malaga
