Luka Doncic's winning streak with Slovenia will carry right into the Olympic quarter-finals while Spain's streak of Olympic medals is in serious jeopardy, with a last eight date with the US looming.
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Doncic just missed the first triple-double in the Olympics in nine years and the Slovenians edged Spain 95-87 on Sunday in a tense and important final game of men's group play.
That gave them the top seed from Group C and they were drawn to face Germany in the knockout round.
"I think we're ready for everything," Doncic said.
"It's the quarter-finals. If you lose you home and we're going to come out 100 per cent."
Doncic had foul trouble early and shooting struggles all night but finished with 12 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists, one shy of the first triple-double since LeBron James had one for the US in 2012.
More importantly, Doncic got the win, just as he has in all 16 games he's played in competition for the Slovenians.
This victory guaranteed they wouldn't have to play either the US, France or Australia on Tuesday.
Spain will play the Americans, putting their streak of three straight Olympic medals in jeopardy. The US beat the Spaniards in classic gold-medal games in 2008 and 2012, then eliminated them in the semi-finals in 2016.
"We just have to rejuvenate in one day and get ready to compete like we always do," Spain coach Sergio Scariolohe said.
Vlatko Cancar scored 22 points for Slovenia while Mike Tobey added 16 points and 14 rebounds as Doncic's teammates kept making plays when Spain forced the ball out of his hands with its zone defences.
"That shows that we have a great team, amazing team effort," Slovenia coach Aleksander Sekulic said.
Ricky Rubio scored 18 points for Spain, but missed a crucial three-pointer that would have tied it at 90 before Slovenia finished it out.
Australian Associated Press
