"Really tough to guard": Luka Doncic lauds Shai Gilgeous-Alexander after his 31-point night knocks Slovenia out of 2023 FIBA World Cup
Luka Doncic had nothing but high praise for fellow NBA star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander after the FIBA World Cup quarter-final between Slovenia and Canada.
Doncic called SGA 'one of the best players in the world', after the latter went for 31 points in the game. Speaking to media after Slovenia's 100-89 loss, he said:
"Congratulations to Canada. They played great... They have one of the best players in the world, so it was really tough to guard him,"
The battle between these two NBA superstars was much anticipated in Manila, Philippines. All tickets (11,710) were sold at Mall of Asia Arena and fans watched Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander give it all on the floor.
Eventually, it was the superstar of the Oklahoma City Thunder who prevailed and led his team to the semi-finals. SGA finished the game with 31 points, on 8/12 shooting, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a PIR of 40.
It was the second consecutive 30-point performance for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 30 points, seven assists and a PIR of 36 vs Spain on Sunday (85-88).
On the other hand, Luka Doncic had 26 points on 8/20 shooting, four rebounds and five assists for a PIR of 22. He didn't play until the end, though, as he got ejected with two technical fouls early in the fourth. Doncic was arguing with the referees from the opening tip and didn't avoid the ejection.
Now, Slovenia will play in classification games for fifth to eighth place and will take on Lithuania on Thursday. For its part, Canada will face Serbia on Friday for a spot in the final.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Canada aim at nothing but gold in the FIBA World Cup
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Canada managed to reach their minimum target by advancing to the Top-4 of the FIBA World Cup. Set to take on Serbia on Friday, the Canadians are not satisfied with just playing in the semi-finals.
Following their triumph over Slovenia, Canada secured a Top-4 finish for the first time in their history, but they are hungry for more.
"It’s an honor. Just putting on this jersey is an honor in itself and to win is another good feeling. But like I said before, we’re not satisfied. We want to win the gold," Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said afterwards.
"We know we got to take it one step at a time. We play Serbia [next], a really great basketball team which just played really well. We got to try to prepare for them the same way we did for this game, then we can focus on the gold, but we know we got to take it one step at a time."
Even with reigning NBA champion Jamal Murray out, rookie coach Jordi Fernandez put together a very talented and deep team, and Canada now has a chance to make history and win its maiden FIBA World Cup title.
For his part, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 25 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 5 APG for an impressive PIR of 30.2 in the tournament and will look for an identical performance on Friday vs the Serbians.