Slovenian U20 Basketball Team Reaches Eurobasket Semifinals

Slovenia's U20 men's basketball team has advanced to the European Championship semifinals, securing a spot in the final four for the third consecutive major tournament. The young Slovenians defeated Turkey 90-72 in the quarterfinals, held in Stožice before approximately 2,000 spectators.

Under coach Danijel Radosavljević, the generation of Slovenian players born in 2006 and younger has consistently performed at a high level. They secured bronze medals at the 2024 European Championship in Finland and the 2025 World Championship in Switzerland. In both those tournaments, Slovenia was eliminated in the semifinals by Germany.

In the upcoming semifinal match on Saturday at 6:30 p.m., Slovenia will face France. The two teams have not met in recent seasons. France finished fifth at the 2024 Eurobasket and tenth at the World Championship in Lausanne, lagging behind Slovenia's success in those events. Both Slovenia and France remain undefeated at the current European Championship in Ljubljana.

Slovenia secured a confident victory over Turkey, while France narrowly defeated Croatia in overtime. Both teams boast deep rosters, with French coach Mickael Hay relying on a balanced squad. The most notable player on the French team is Oscar Wembanyama, younger brother of NBA star Victor Wembanyama. For Slovenia, Urban Kroflič led the scoring with 26 points, supported by Lovro Faganel (13 points), Mark Padjen (12 points), and Lovro Bolhar (10 points). The other semifinal will feature Spain against the winner of the Serbia-Greece match.