Spain’s run for the gold medal at EuroBasket 2017 is over as Slovenia, behind a balanced attack from Goran Dragic, Luka Doncic, and Anthony Randolph pulled away from the favorites after halftime and cruised to a 92-72 win.
Spain, who came into this summer’s tournament as winners of three of the last four European Championships, hung with the more athletic Slovenian side for two quarters but struggled in the third where they were outscored 24-12.
Doncic, who’s in contention for the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists. The 18-year-old was able to get into the paint with ease, find his shot whenever he wanted to and showed off the elite vision that has scouts salivating over his potential with a flurry of cross-court passes that are rare for a player so young.
Dragic, who’s retiring from international play following this tournament, scored 15 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out five assists. Randolph finished with 15 points on 6-9 shooting and had his way against the less-athletic and mobile Spanish frontcourt that consisted of Marc and Pau Gasol, and Willy Hernangomez.
30-year-old Gasper Vidmar, who plays professionally for Banvit in Turkey, frustrated the Gasols and tallied 12 points and five rebounds in 28 important minutes.
Spain never looked focused from the onset of today’s matchup. For a team who throughout EuroBasket seemed to get every look that they wanted on offense, they only shot 40 percent from the field and 7-27 (26 percent) from distance. The favorites were flustered throughout, committing 13 turnovers to Slovenia’s eight.
Nuggets’ forward Juancho Hernangomez only played 16 minutes versus Slovenia — his second-lowest total at EuroBasket — and scored five points and registered five rebounds. The 21-year-old shot 1-4 from the field and converted on all three of his free-throws.
Defensively, Hernangomez had some good moments but also struggled at times limiting Doncic and his playmaking, as did the rest of Spain’s roster. It was a good test for the swingman who will be tasked with guarding much quicker wings once Denver’s season tips off in Utah on Oct. 18.
Hernangomez is averaging 8.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game through eight games at EuroBasket. Spain will play the loser of Russia and Serbia in Sunday’s bronze medal game.
