Luka Doncic's Slovenia took on France in Friday's marquee 2025 EuroBasket matchup. Doncic and Co. suffered a brutal 105-95 loss in their opener against Poland despite the superstar's 34-point outing. Meanwhile, France, one of the favorites, stormed past Belgium with a 92-64 result.
Friday's game began with both teams looking to attack the rim and overwhelm each other with their physicality. It was a neck-and-neck contest as they stayed within a possession through the first quarter. Doncic had a hot start with 15 points and three assists, giving the Slovenians a 30-28 lead after the first 10 minutes.
Slovenia kept its advantage in the second quarter despite keeping Doncic on the bench for the first four minutes, even taking a five-point lead at one point. However, Sylvian Francisco kept the French in the hunt with his uber-efficient play. He tied the game 40-40 with 4:10 left after scoring his 11th point.
However, Luka Doncic took over the game again. He scored eight points in the final 1:20 minutes, giving Slovenia a seven-point lead at halftime (54-47). He finished the half with 24 points and six assists, while no other teammate of his scored in double digits.
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On the other hand, Bilal Coulibaly joined Sylvian Francisco in double digits, scoring 10, entering the break.
France bounced back in the third quarter, winning it 21-16, and cut the gap to two points before the fourth quarter. Francisco, Risaacher and Sarr were key in helping the French during that stretch.
France continued the momentum in the final quarter, wearing down Slovenia and winning the 50-50 battles. Their resiliency showed down the stretch as they went on a 7-0 run with two and a half minutes left, which turned the game around.
France finished the contest with a 103-95 win. Sylvian Francesco dominated the game off the bench with 32 points, and four others joined him in double-digit scoring.
On the other hand, Slovenia got 39 points from Luka Doncic and 16 from Edo Muric. The rest struggled to make consistent contributions throughout the 40 minutes.
Here's the full box score for the France vs. Slovenia game.