Clippers’ center Ivica Zubac tallied 12 points and 7 rebounds in Croatia’s blowout win.
After a strong game on Thursday against Poland in a comeback effort, LA Clippers center Ivica Zubac took the floor again for Croatia on Sunday as they did battle against Switzerland in a Group E game at the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers.
Zubac, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes on Thursday, finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench on Sunday. Four of Zubac’s 7 rebounds were on the offensive end, including a nice putback slam.
The game was never in doubt as Croatia took an early double-digit lead en route to ultimately scoring a 31-point victory as they knocked off Switzerland, 84-53.
One of the more noticeable things is that Zubac appears to have slimmed down a little bit compared to the end of last season. That commitment to bettering his body has him looking more nimble on his feet, potentially aiding him in his development.
Karlo Matkovic, a second-round pick by the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2022 NBA Draft, got the start at center over Zubac, finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead all players.
The Utah Jazz’s Bojan Bogdanovic poured in 12 points while Dario Saric of the Phoenix Suns had 13 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists.
Croatia is now 2-0 in Group E thanks to their wins over Poland and Switzerland. The only team they haven’t played yet in their group, Austria, is 0-2. Those two teams will meet on Nov. 10, but the NBA season will be going on during that time thus prohibiting Zubac from participating.
While the 25-year-old is now done with his FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers stint, he’s possibly not done with playing for Croatia this offseason. The FIBA EuroBasket 2022 tournament kicks off on Sept. 1 with Croatia playing on Sept. 2 against Greece in Group C action.
That first game between Croatia and Greece could see Zubac have to go up against two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks which would be a nice test for the young center.
Italy, Ukraine, Great Britain and Estonia are also in Group C.
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