The National team had a… relaxed night, defeating Egypt 93-71 in the packed SEF and formally securing first place in the second group of the Pre-Olympic Tournament.
Next comes the obstacle of Slovenia’s Luka Doncic in the semi-finals (06/07, 17:30). That’s exactly where he was mentioned Dino Mitoglou in his post-match remarks, stressing that he would… pay to see the Slovenian star against Giannis Antetokounmpo.
What he said in detail:
“The conclusions from these first two games are to improve our mental situation, because Egypt gave us a hard time and we have to be more mentally prepared and not bend to the pressure. I think this is very important and I see it as a lesson for us to continue as we have to play with much stronger teams, such as Croatia and Slovenia. Otherwise we got two very important victories and we advance to Saturday’s semi-final.
You can’t easily say the games we’ve played so far. They are not easy games. No game from this tournament is easy because there can clearly be a slight relaxation and generally a mistake that will be made and these teams are unforgiving. As you saw, Croatia lost to New Zealand. It doesn’t want too much to be done. The levels are too close. You must be very well mentally. Be mentally and physically ready. But I think that we have taken steps forward in these two days. Let’s rest because we have to face a very strong team on Saturday.
I can’t tell you how we will play against Luka Doncic, but I think our tactics will be such that we make it very difficult for him. We have not spoken, we will start from tonight and from tomorrow morning to prepare for this match as we obviously go day by day each time, game by game because as I said nothing is easy but tomorrow our preparation starts.
Slovenia is a whole, it’s not just Doncic. There are so many players in Slovenia and it is a generally very good squad. He has great players, it’s not just Luka. It is a team sport. And they have quality in their tall ones and in their short ones with shooters and energy. So I think it will be a very strong game, it will be decided in the details and it will be clear who wants it more.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s matchup with Luka Doncic will be excellent. I think it will be a great fight. We can’t wait to see it. If I didn’t play basketball and was just a sports fan I would pay and come to see it.”
Source: Sport Fm
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