Slovenian head coach Aleksander Sekulic spoke after the quarterfinal game against Canada at the FIBA World Cup.
Sekulic was unable to lead his team to the semifinals as Canada was dominant and secured a place among the top four teams.
“Congratulations to Canada; they have an excellent team and coach. We played well or even excellently in the first half, but later we lost concentration and gave them too many transition points. On the other hand, we missed open shots that we could have made. In the end, their athleticism made the difference. I am proud of what we achieved,” Sekulic said.
About the difficulties
“We faced a lot of problems, injuries, one of them during the tournament. It was all more than fantastic. Not just Luka Doncic, everyone gave everything they had and played better than expected, given the circumstances. I had the feeling that the whole arena was cheering for us, and a few guys who weren’t, but what can we do…”
About the turning point
“We kicked very well, just like they did, but we also controlled the counterattacks. We didn’t do that in the second half, they are very good at it, and that was decisive in the end.”
Comparison of the USA and Canada and guarding Doncic
“Canada is a top-notch team. They can play in different lineups, including small-ball, with two big players. They have great guards, playmakers. They can go all the way and challenge the USA, but we’ll see. I said Canada is one of the favorites, and I still think that.
It’s tough to play when they are hitting you the entire game. It’s difficult to control your emotions, but it’s very tough. He had the ball in his hands a lot. It’s frustrating. You get tired of it. You have to be in that situation to understand. I know it doesn’t all look good. That’s why Luka is special. It’s hard to defend him in a legal way,” Sekulic concluded.