Let Luka Doncic "spend all his youth arguing with the referee", Canada enters the semi-finals of FIBA World Cup 2023
Besides scoring beautiful points with his efforts to carry the entire Slovenian team on his shoulders, Luka Doncic left a bad image when constantly arguing with the referees.
And finally, this is also the reason why Doncic was no longer on the field when the game entered the crucial final minutes, being expelled from the field for committing 2 technical errors.
On the other side of the front line, the Canadian team led by All-NBA defender Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (scored 31 points) straight to victory with a score of 100-89, thereby setting foot in the semi-finals of the FIBA World Cup 2023. .
"This is a huge honor," Shai told reporters after taking Canada to the first World Cup semi-final in the country's history. here".
Playing the role of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's counterpart, Luka Doncic scored 26 points for Slovenia with 4-6 3PT. But the defender's second technical foul came with 6 minutes and 37 seconds left in the fourth quarter, forcing him to leave the field and return to the locker room.
Both of Doncic's technical fouls had the same reason: arguing with the referee. The Slovenian team then shortened the gap from 15 points to 9 points. But due to the lack of conductor Luka, the European team could not do anything.
After the match, Luka Doncic confessed that he couldn't control his emotions and was disqualified. However, the Slovenian defender also pointed out that he suffered many collisions and said that everything was not fair:
“Playing for the national team always brings a lot of emotions. The determination to win is always high and I do everything I can to achieve it.
Sometimes I have no control over my emotions, which I consider to be my weakness. I also know that during the game I complain a lot to the referees, but I think there is something unfair here. They played very hard and collided with me a lot."
Not long before Luka Doncic was expelled, the Canadian team also lost a key player, Dillon Brooks, one of the team's two defensive specialists.
Brooks was disqualified by the referee for provoking his opponent after a scoring situation. However, in terms of importance, the departure of Dillon Brooks will certainly have less consequences than Slovenia losing Luka Doncic.
“I know Luka is an excellent player, can throw extremely well and has quick hands. But we have a strategy to make him physically degraded," Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added about restraining Doncic.
The quarter-final between Canada and Slovenia could not have been more even in the first half. The two teams were even tied at 50-50 at halftime (half score 26-24, 24-26) and the rebound index was also similar (14-14).
Even so, the game opened up for the North American team when Canada opened the third half with a 19-5 run. From there, they maintained their advantage and won the final with a difference of 11 points.
“I can only congratulate them. They have one of the best players in the league and it's not easy to stop them. I congratulate the Canadian team with the ticket to the semi-finals," Luka Doncic told reporters.
This is an important victory for the Canadian team because they will enter the group of 4 strongest teams, marking the best results they have had in major tournaments. Previously, the highest position Canada ever had was 6th place in the final two world championships in 1978 and 1982.
At the same time, this match is equally important for Germany and Serbia, helping these two teams lock in tickets to attend the 2024 Paris Olympics as the two teams with the best achievements in the group of European countries.
As for Luka Doncic and his Slovenian teammates, being outside the top 2 in Europe at the FIBA World Cup will take them to the Olympic qualifiers taking place in July next year. Winning the tournament will be Slovenia's ticket to Paris.
In the next outing, Slovenia will play the 5-8 Playoffs series, starting with the meeting with the Lithuania team on Thursday (September 7). If won, Doncic and his teammates will play the 5th place match on Saturday (September 9).
As for the Canadian team, they will have a semi-final match against another European representative, Serbia, on Friday (September 8).
