Germany ousts Slovenia despite Doncic’s 39, advances to EuroBasket semifinals
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RIGA, Latvia — Germany erased a late deficit to beat Slovenia 99-91 in a EuroBasket quarterfinal on Wednesday, overcoming a 39-point night from Luka Doncic and booking a semifinal meeting with Finland on Friday.
Orlando Magic guard Franz Wagner paced Germany with 23 points, sinking 13 of 14 free-throw attempts, while team captain Dennis Schroder added 20 points and seven assists. Schroder’s only made three-pointer, after eight misses, put Germany ahead for good at 88-86 with 3:49 remaining.
Slovenia had reclaimed the lead 86-85 moments earlier on a Doncic three-pointer. The Dallas Mavericks star finished 5 of 16 from beyond the arc and also collected 10 rebounds and seven assists. He picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter but still delivered his fifth 30-plus game of the tournament.
Germany started the fourth quarter with a 12-0 run, capped by an Andreas Obst three that made it 77-74. Slovenia entered the final period in front, but Tristan Da Silva cut the margin to four at the third-quarter buzzer with a half-court heave.
The win keeps Germany in the hunt for its second European championship and first since capturing the title as host in 1993. The final will be played Sunday in Riga, which is staging all knockout rounds.
Finland reaches first semifinal
Earlier Wednesday, Finland defeated Georgia 93-79 to secure the nation’s first trip to the EuroBasket semifinals. Mikael Jantunen scored 19 points and Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen added 17 points and six rebounds for the Finns, who outscored Georgia 44-4 in bench points.
Finland led by 20 in the third quarter before Georgia trimmed the gap to six with just under eight minutes left. Toronto Raptors forward Sandro Mamukelashvili paced Georgia with 22 points. Highly regarded 18-year-old Miikka Muurinen, a projected 2027 NBA first-round pick, contributed seven points off Finland’s bench.
Georgia was appearing in the quarterfinals for the first time as an independent nation after eliminating Olympic silver medalist France in the round of 16 and defeating defending champion Spain in group play.
Source: ESPN
