MANILA – Slovenia ended its FIBA World Cup campaign on a high note, pipping Italy 89-85 in the seventh-place game on Saturday night in front of 10,775 fans at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Slovenia restored order just in time after Italy fought back from 15 points down.
Down 65-50 in the third quarter, Italy crawled back and took an 85-83 lead with a minutes and four seconds remaining in the fourth.
However, some "Luka Magic" happened in the next play when Doncic found Jakob Cebasek open from beyond the arc for the booming three that put Slovenia ahead, 86-85, with 40.3 seconds left.
Simone Fontecchio, back in action after getting sick on Thursday, tried to put Italy back up, but he was called for an offensive foul, and Gregor Hrovat made two free throws off an ensuing Giampaolo Ricci foul for an 88-85 cushion.
Marco Spissu tried to feed the ball to Fontecchio, but he botched the pass, and Zoran Dragic sealed Slovenia's win with a split from the free-throw line.
Doncic capped his FIBA World Cup stint with 29 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, and three steals, while Mike Tobey added 12 points and three rebounds for Slovenia, which will leave the Philippines with a win after all.
The 24-year-old also joined a list of only 11 players (13 occasions) to score at least 200 points in a single World Cup. He finished with a total of 216.
Spissu had 22 points, three rebounds, four assists, and one steal for Italy, which made the quarterfinal for the first time in 25 years.
Luigi Datome, who is turning 36 in November, only had one point and two rebounds in 10 and a half minutes of play in his farewell tournament.
However, both teams gave Datome a standing ovation when he was subbed out for good with 3:27 left and the crowd did the same at the end of the match. (PNA)
