Doncic, Slovenia top Italy for 7th place at Basketball World Cup

Slovenia ensured it ended its World Cup campaign with a 89-85 victory with Doncic scoring 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

Luka Doncic during the FIBA Basketball World Cup classification match between Italy and Slovenia. | Photo Credit: AFP

Luka Doncic ended his summer schedule with a win.

Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks star, finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists as Slovenia topped Italy 89-85 on Saturday in the seventh-place game at the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Mike Tobey scored 12 points and Zoran Dragic added 10 for Slovenia (5-3).

Luka Doncic came two dimes short of the World Cup's first-ever triple double to power Slovenia's win over Italy and earn TCL Player of the Game honors 👏

📊 29 PTS | 10 REB | 8 AST | 3 STL | 32 EFF#FIBAWC x #WinForSlovenia 🇸🇮 | #InspireGreatnesspic.twitter.com/8ScQNdTdsl

— FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 🏆 (@FIBAWC) September 9, 2023

Marco Spissu scored 22 points for Italy, which dropped its last three games in the tournament. Simone Fontecchio scored 16 and Achille Polonara added 13 for Italy.

It was the final game before retirement for Italian veteran and former NBA player Gigi Datome. Italy’s captain had one point in 10 minutes on Saturday.