FILE–LUKA DONCIC of Slovenia during the International Friendly match between Greece and Slovenia at OAKA Stadium on August 4, 2023, in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Stefanos Kyriazis/NurPhoto)
MANILA, Philippines—Luka Doncic on Wednesday quickly dismissed any health concerns with a masterful performance in a Fiba World Cup warmup against Montenegro.
He left Slovenia’s friendly game against Greece early with an apparent knee injury last Saturday.
The Dallas Mavericks star dazzled with his second triple-double in three games for Slovenia, collecting 34 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists against Montenegro.
Doncic also hit the game-winning triple that broke a 97-deadlock with under a minute remaining as Slovenia held on, 104-100.
Luka Doncic cooked up Montenegro with an EPIC triple-double 😨 #FIBAWC #WinForAll
🔥 34 PTS
🔥 13 REB
🔥 14 AST
✅ W 104-100— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) August 8, 2023
It was the Slovenians’ first win after dropping back-to-back games against Greece at home.
In the first meeting with Greece, which is still missing the services of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Doncic notched 21 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in a 98-91 loss last Thursday.
Two days later in a rematch against Greece, Doncic was on his way to another stellar showing with 18 points before exiting with still two minutes left in the second quarter after bumping knees with Greek big man Emmanouil Chatzidakis.
The 24-year-old Doncic is one of the biggest stars in the upcoming World Cup, which tips off on August 25 co-hosted by the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
Filipino basketball fans won’t get to see Doncic play in the Philippines until the knockout quarterfinals if Slovenia makes it that far.
Slovenia, which failed to qualify in the 2019 edition of the World Cup, is among the Group F favorites to advance to the second round.
The Slovenians, who will play at Okinawa Arena in Japan during the group phase, open their campaign against Venezuela on August 26 before taking on Georgia on August 28 and Cape Verde on August 30.
Only the top two teams from each group will progress to the next round.