The highly anticipated FIBA EuroBasket 2025 tournament officially begins on Wednesday, Aug. 27, as 24 countries compete in the group play round of the tournament. We’ll be tapped in on Luka Dončić and the Slovenian men’s basketball team, who will begin their campaign on Thursday against Poland.
Star time and TV schedule
Who: Slovenia vs. Poland
When: 11:30 a.m. PT, Aug. 28
Where: Spodek Arena, Poland
Watch: Courtside 1891
The EuroBasket tournament format is relatively straightforward, as it follows a similar
structure to the Olympics. It begins with the group phase, followed by the knockout stage, which leads to the quarterfinals, semifinals, a battle for third place and culminates in the championship match.
The tournament begins with four groups, each consisting of six teams, for the group phase round. Slovenia is slotted in Group D alongside France, Poland, Israel, Belgium and Iceland.
For the next week, Dončić and his team will go up against these five aforementioned countries, and the goal is simple: To rank at least in the top four in their group.
This should be a very achievable task for Slovenia. Anything less than a top-four finish in the group phase round would be extremely disappointing for them.
Despite an underwhelming showing during the exhibition games — where Slovenia won just one out of their five preparation matches — they should still be able to start the EuroBasket tournament on a strong note.
They’re ranked 11th in the world and have a top-five player in Dončić on their team. In the majority of their games, Slovenia will have the best player on their side, and it’ll be up to the team to take advantage of that.
Meanwhile, Poland, which ranks 17th in the world, lacks the firepower to match Slovenia, especially since their best player, Jeremy Sochan, withdrew from the tournament due to a calf injury.
Their best players are forward Mateusz Ponitka and guard Michal Machalak, but unless they pull off a major upset similar to the one they achieved in the EuroBasket 2022 quarterfinals tournament, this one should be a win for Slovenia.
Speaking of that upset victory by Poland in 2022, that was the moment that started the animosity between these two teams.
The memory still stings for the Slovenians because not only were they embarrassed, but it was Gordon Dragic’s last EuroBasket game and suffice it to say that it was a shocking exit. That’s why this upcoming match for Slovenia will be a revenge game for that ugly memory.
An upset also won’t happen if Dončić plays within his usual standards, as nobody in the host country can go toe-to-toe with him.
It would also be beneficial for Slovenia to put their opponent to bed early, as they’ll be playing three games in the next four days. The last thing Slovenians and Lakers fans want is for Luka to burn out, let alone as early as the group phase of the competition.
Hopefully, the opposite happens and Dončić and the Slovenians make it as far as possible in this year’s EuroBasket tournament. Let’s see if they can start their quest for a gold medal finish with a win against Poland on Thursday.
Notes and Updates:
- The last time Slovenia won the EuroBasket tournament was in 2017. They’ve also advanced to the knockout round every year since 2005.
You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.
