The Polish national team was in high spirits after their thrilling win over Slovenia, but the tone in the press conference shifted with the very first question.
It was pointed out that Slovenia’s head coach, Aleksander Sekulic, had referred to “strange things” happening during the game and remarked about shots being made by “players who are not considered great shooters.”
Poland’s head coach, Igor Milicic, could only smile at the comment. Rather than back down, he leaned into the criticism and even threw out a challenge for a possible rematch in the later stages of EuroBasket 2025.
“I really like it when we can beat teams back-to-back and they still don’t believe in us, so… I am thinking, like Jordan (Loyd) said, individual quality, our team preparation, and tactical things that we put together, topped Slovenia again, and hopefully we can beat them again somewhere in Riga, it would be great,” Milicic responded.
The coach then shifted focus to what he felt truly set his team apart.
“First of all, the team believes in what we do, and maybe Jordan can refer to the confidence of our players comes from our work. We did a lot of work in our preparation, tactically and mentally, and we have a lot of options offensively and defensively in situations that are not going well for us. But we believe in it, we play for each other, and this gives us these kinds of fruits. I don’t think it’s an accident that we are winning against Slovenia or Luka Doncic.”
Sitting next to his coach was the star of the night, Jordan Loyd. The naturalized guard stunned the crowd and the record books with 32 points, marking the fourth-best EuroBasket debut in history and the second-best scoring performance by a Polish player since 1987. Loyd, however, admitted he was unaware of the historical significance until told by the press.
“That’s kind of crazy, I didn’t know it. There are a lot of great players who played in this competition, and it’s nice to be able to showcase what I do, but it’s just one game. I am never too high, never too low. For me, it’s always about winning. So as far as we winning, I am good.”
Naturally, the conversation turned toward facing Luka Doncic, who had once again been the center of attention with a spectacular individual performance despite the loss. Loyd was asked how it felt to compete with the Dallas Mavericks superstar and still come out on top. His answer was respectful, yet confident.
“One of the best players in the world will always have a lot of hype, news, and media around him. It’s pretty awesome to be on the court with him and a lot of respect to what he has done, but being on the other side, you use that as energy. And as a team, we used that as a motivation. We have to be humble, but on the other side, you’re going to respect us too. Luka is Luka, there’s no more credit and respect I can give to him, but tonight our team was better.”
Before wrapping up, Milicic provided a minor update on his roster. Big man Olek Balcerowski picked up a knock during the game but is expected to be fit and available for the next group stage clashes.
"I really like it when we can beat teams back-to-back and they still don't believe in us" 🎯
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) August 28, 2025
"Luka is Luka, but tonight our team was better" 🎯
Shots fired in the press conference of Poland #Eurobasket https://t.co/OgaJYdysxM
