EUROBASKET 2011

Erazem Lorbek says Slovenia are up against the best team in the tournament and urges his team-mates to rise to the occasion

FIRST QUARTER-FINAL | WEDNESDAY AT 18:00 (17:00 CET)

Slovenia's Erazem Lorbek has told his team-mates to stand up and be counted when they take on defending champions Spain in Wednesday's Quarter-Final.

Bozidar Maljkovic's men clinched the final spot on offer for the last eight with a win over Finland.

The result halted a three-game losing streak but now comes to biggest test of all and that is Spain, who finished top of Group E.

"We face the best team in the tournament," said Lorbek, who plays for Barcelona in Spain's ACB.

Lorbek is leading Slovenia in scoring, averaging 11 points per game.

"Spain are deep and with their rhythm, they can beat you.

"We will have to show a big improvement, play as a team and give our all."

Slovenia have been out of their rhythm since a 65-64 defeat to Russia in the First Round.

There is one good thing for the Slovenians ahead of the Spain game.

"The fact that we have faced each other twice this summer does help us," said Lorbek.

"But one thing is clear. We have to play much better."

Slovenia lost both of their friendly encounters that were played against Sergio Scariolo's team.

Spain go into the contest sky-high, after their 96-69 triumph over France on Sunday.

The fact that France chose not to play Tony Parker and Joakim Noah did not dampen the mood of the Spanish players, who were keen to finish top of Group E.

The win was Spain's sixth in Lithuania.

If Slovenia are to be successful, they will have to stop Spain from doing what they love, which is to run.

The Spanish got 16 points on fast-breaks against France.

According to Scariolo, Slovenia are capable of doing that.

"It's difficult to score against them," he said. "Few rivals have managed to run against them up to now."

Head-to-Head: Slovenia have won just one of their four meetings with Spain at EuroBaskets. In 2009, Slovenia nearly upset Spain in Warsaw but lost 90-84 after overtime. The teams met at last year's World Championship in the classification round, with Spain winning 97-80.

Last Time Out: Spain thrashed France 96-69 on Sunday while Slovenia edged Finland 67-60.

Key Match-Up: Slovenia's Jaka Lakovic vs Spain's Juan Carlos Navarro. Lakovic played five seasons at Barcelona and was a team-mate of Navarro before leaving the ACB champions this summer. Lakovic is 15 of 44 (34.1%) from behind the arc.

Key Stat: Spain went on a 27-4 run in the third quarter against France to pull away.
Slovenia were seven of 21 (33%) from behind the arc against Finland while Spain finished 10 of 19 (53%) against France.

X-Factor: Slovenia's Uros Slokar. After failing to hit double digits in his previous seven games, Slokar made both of his shots from long range and scored 13 points and also had eight rebounds in the must-win game against the Finns.

Sounding Off: "Spain are a super team and we are just a team," says Slovenia's Jaka Lakovic.