Jokic-led Serbia stomp Doncic and Slovenia during int’l friendly

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Two of the biggest European basketball stars have already given the hoops fans a preview of their heavyweight matchup when the NBA season begins this October.

On Aug. 22, 2025, Nikola Jokic and Serbia battered the Luka Doncic-led Slovenia, 106-72, during an international world friendly game in preparation for the upcoming FIBA EuroBasket tournament.

While Serbia dominated with their efficient offensive execution and size advantage, the postgame buzz centered around Jokic and Doncic’s battle inside the hardwood.

Jokic posted a near triple-double of 10 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in just 21 minutes of playing time while the Slovenian stalwart had 17 markers, seven boards, and four dimes.

The Denver Nuggets franchise player is back to business after a two-month layoff in the ongoing NBA off-season, but his all-around impact on the court was all that Serbia needed to race to a quick start.

Jokic immediately rifled back-to-back assists to his open corner shooters and forced Slovenia to call an early timeout after a bully-ball deuce in the shaded lane.

Despite the soft double-team adjustment deployed by Slovenia, Jokic still kept his composure and directed traffic for his teammates, resulting to free lanes to the cup generated by his pin-down screens in the elbows.

The lead grew big at the start of the third, and Jokic barely played in the second half as his NBA co-stars Nikola Jovic and Bogdan Bogdanovic helped protect their cushion with their three-point shooting barrage.

On the other hand, Doncic opened strong, banking on his foul-baiting ability to earn early trips to the charity stripe.

However, the LA Lakers floor general struggled shooting from the field, only converting four out of his 18 total attempts.

Doncic met a relentless Serbian perimeter defense that blitzed him when reaching the top of the key, forcing him to give up the leather that delayed their offensive sets.

After the week-long international friendlies, Serbia proved why they are the team to beat after an undefeated campaign, while Slovenia only grabbed a single win in six games.