For 29 minutes the Slovenian team had control of the game, and in the second half they kept their advantage around ten points. But then they completely lost it, and the Lithuanian series of 16:2, starting with the balls stolen by Jonas Maciulis at the end of the third quarter, turned the result; the Lithuanians were only 7 points behind: "Maciulis entered the game with one duty only: to steal balls. We really had bad luck. Zupan was already holding the ball, but it was knocked out of his hands. Extremely bad luck." The Slovenian players afterwards haven't scored for whole ten minutes; they only scored two points in the last quarter of the match. 14 seconds before the end of the match they had the opportunity to win the game, or to force extra time at the moment the siren went off, but the result remained 67:64, and Lithuania won. Slovenia took the second, least desired place in D group.
"The Slovenian players can have a clear conscience"
If Slovenia wins against the Dominican Republic in the eighth of the finals – the match is scheduled for Saturday 8 p.m. in Barcelona – its opponent in the quarter finals will almost certainly be the team of the USA. Zdovc's team, four times winner, made no calculations like e.g. Australians. The Australian team allowed Angola to win. Yet the award for the fair fight failed to come. "The last two days before this match we spent a lot of time on calculations. All the teams did, and probably you journalists as well. But the system is such as it is. We have decided to play to win against Angola, and our conscience is clear."
During the first four matches the Slovenian attack ran smoothly. The defence caused a bit more problems, but in this last match the defence was quite good, but the throws for two (1/7) and three points (0/9) in the final ten minutes of the match were not good enough to win against such a good team as Lithuania. "We have a great week behind us. In the five matches our performance was outstanding, the boys played at a high level, they showed desire to win, and played with heart. This time we were facing Lithuania, which is a top team. Details were decisive. I was confident of our victory. But in the crucial moments when we needed a bit of luck, the luck failed us. I kept telling the players we had still two 'small' personal faults at our disposal. The Lithuanians scored also from very difficult positions – one of them even scored over Zoran, with the ball bouncing of the board. The judges permitted a very rough game, and in the end they refrained from whistling, and it turned into a brawl. It was a real war. "

Zdovc thanked the fans
The Slovenian players had a number of open throws. Jure Balažić for example, one of the best shooters from distance in the team, in the final ten minutes missed four three pointers – the ball simply wouldn't pass through the hoop. "We had Balažić, a light number four, and he got the opportunity for some open shots. We spread the game, and up until this match we managed to punish the opponent, as we have no real advantage in in-depth game. We also widen the game in order to allow the attacks of both Dragić brothers and Lorbek. We created the opportunities for open shots, and attacked as a team, but the ball simply wouldn't enter. Our defence was good. In the end luck played a great part. Lithuania scored from the board, while we missed a certain point. But that's basketball, and unfortunately the existing system might result into our elimination in the quarterfinals, with a single lost quarter of the match. But there are still more matches to play, and we need to concentrate on that. I would like to thank to our fans who came so far to support us – and I'd like to tell them it is not over yet. We are not giving up, and that was the first thing I told to the boys in the locker room."
Again the most points were scored from below the hoop. In the first half time Alen Omić had problems with Jonas Valanciunas, while in the second half the Lavrinovic twins took the matter in their hands. The Slovenian centre had his hands full with the twins, and Kšyštof scored a three pointer after a mistake he made, and next Darjus scored equalizing points at 62. On the other side Omić missed "certain" points twice: "It was difficult to form attacks with Omić below the basket, as he already had a lot of problems with the Lavrinovic brothers in defence. It cost us dearly. Rotation comes next, always. We attacked, tried to add another pass, but we failed to score. In the end we had the opportunity to win, although the boys had almost lost hope. We could have won..."
He trusted the players, but they were also tired
The Dragić brothers and Domen Lorbek played excellently, as they did during the entire championship, but in the end they lost the edge, and the attacks were too often completed by individual actions. "No defeat is pleasant. The boys really gave everything they had. No one can blame them. Nobody misses on purpose, nobody choses to fail. We played well in attack during the entire tournament, in my opinion we were among the best of the world championship. It was how we played in the first half time of this match as well, and we scored a lot of points. And then it simply stopped. If anyone is to blame, it should be me. Perhaps I should have rotated the players more. The match unravelled in such a manner. I placed my trust on some of the players who perhaps missed some shots because of their tiredness. I repeat, I don't blame the players. If there is any blame to go around, I can only blame myself, the boys deserve my congratulations."
"It is my duty to boost their morale. That's why I congratulated them after the match. Some of them really gave their maximum, but it isn't over yet. We will get reimbursed at another occasion, I am sure. If nothing else, we have a lot of new matches and new championship ahead of us," the selector explained, emphasizing that he isn't giving up yet.