Slovenia win EuroBasket for nation's first gold in team sports
Ljubljana, 5 December - The Slovenian men's basketball team won the EuroBasket in September against all odds to give the nation its first gold medal ever in team sports at major tournaments.
Istanbul, Turkey
Slovenian national basketball team lifting trophy after winning the 2017 EuroBasket
Photo: Tamino Petelinšek/STA
Sweeping the preliminary round in Helsinki, Slovenia entered the knock-out stage in Istanbul, Turkey as a dark horse. With the additions of Serbian coach Igor Kokoškov and naturalised American player Anthony Randolph, Slovenia cruised past Ukraine in the round of 16 and defeated the tough Latvia in the quarter finals to earn a semi-final match against Spain. Slovenia virtually demolished the favoured Spaniards to earn the final match against Serbia, with thousands of Slovenian fans attending the decisive match.
In the emotional final, Slovenia closed the Serbs out in the final minutes to the delight of the entire nation. Team captain Goran Dragić was named the most valuable player of the tournament, and teenage prodigy Luka Dončić joined him in the all-tournament team as one of the youngest players ever to manage the feat.
The basketballers were also named team of the year and Dragić the male athlete of the year by the Association of Sports Journalists.