Despite stumbling through EuroBasket 2025 preparation games with just one win in six tries, Slovenia found its rhythm when it mattered, advancing to the quarterfinals and proving they couldn’t be overlooked. As Germany assistant coach Alen Ibrahimovic noted beforehand, “You could see, of course, that they rely on Luka Doncic and his game, but they’ve also been together for a long time and are very well-rehearsed.” Ironically, it was that same German squad that ended Slovenia’s run, defeating them 99-91 to knock Luka and company out of championship contention.

Still, Doncic chose to leave the tournament with gratitude rather than frustration. After the loss, he shared an Instagram story with his 10.5 million followers: a team photo with Luka standing front and center, basketball in hand, captioned with three heart emojis, the word “PROUD!” and three Slovenian flags. But while his public message struck an optimistic, unifying tone, Luka’s emotions told a different story once the cameras turned back on.

Team Slovenia remained in a close race against Franz Wagner and co throughout the matchup. By halftime, Luka Doncic and co were leading by 51-45. By the 3rd quarter, Slovenia had a 7-point lead, and they regained the lead by getting the score up to 86-85 after Luka made a 3-pointer with 4:12 to go before Schröder sank his only 3-pointer of the game. As reported by the Ottumwa Courier, Slovenia looked “in control”. That is, until Tristan Da Silva sank a 3-pointer with a half-court shot at the 3rd quarter buzzer, slashing Slovenia’s led to four points. The momentum shifted, and Slovenia had to walk away from yet another EuroBasket tournament.

Luka Doncic, just like in the previous EuroBasket 2025 games, led the scoring effort for his team by recording 39 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. It wasn’t his usual efficient night, going 11 for 25, and shot 5-for-16 from 3-point range. With the matchup marking the 5th game in which he recorded 30+ points, Luka Doncic has now tied with Greek legend Nikos Galis’s record for the most 30+ point games in a single EuroBasket tournament. With Slovenia being eliminated, he will have to wait until the next EuroBasket tournament to try to surpass the record he set — one that Galis reportedly established 36 years ago, back in 1989.

In his Instagram story, Luka Doncic chose not to focus heavily on the events that took place. However, this doesn’t imply he wasn’t still upset about how things unfolded. In fact, his frustration was aimed not only at the outcome but also at the officiating, revealing a broader sense of dissatisfaction with how the game was handled.

Luka Doncic Slammed Referees After Loss Against Germany: “never happened to me in my life”

After the 99-91 loss against Germany, Luka Doncic spoke to the media. The Los Angeles Lakers star did not choose to hide his anger, and clearly stated that “I’m angry, 100 percent angry. I could have done more in the last quarter, I forced shots, I could have been better in key moments, I didn’t make the right decisions… Hats off to the guys, we showed we can win. We all fought and gave our best”. Amidst giving this praise to his teammates, the Slovenian also couldn’t help but marvel at the officiating in the recent game.

“I won’t say much. I got my first technical foul just two minutes into the game when I shouted ‘Come on.’ That shouldn’t happen in a quarterfinal, no matter who the player is. To not even get a warning—honestly, I don’t know what the referees were thinking,” said Luka Doncic. “Four fouls at the start of the third quarter—something like that has never happened to me in my life”.

As ‘BasketNews’ highlighted, Luka did not want to focus on the referees. However, he was visibly upset with the officiating, as he was seen making the ‘money gesture’ towards the referees after he received his 4th foul.

The Lakers star wasn’t the only one to feel some frustration against the referees. Center Alen Omic criticized the foul decisions on Luka, and also added that “We played very well, we fought, we came here to go to the end, but when the opponent gets 40 [37] free throws in a game, you cannot win”.

Veteran guard Klemen Prepelic said, “It’s getting ridiculous. I feel certain things are not going to be on the level of basketball that you play in these kinds of tournaments. … It’s going to be sad. For many teams, I don’t want to talk about whether the win is deserved or not”.

While Luka Doncic hasn’t explicitly stated that he’d be available for the 2027 FIBA World Cup tournament—Slovenia would hope to have the superstar for another shot at a major tournament. Until then, it remains to be seen just how drastic of a transformation Team Slovenia will undergo to make up for their EuroBasket 2025 run.