Slovenia head coach Aleksander Sekulic criticized the hounding defense being thrown at Luka Doncic and yet not getting the foul calls from the officials in their 100-89 loss to Canada in the quarterfinals of 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup on Wednesday, Sept. 6.

The physical defense and the non-calls left the Slovenian star frustrated, leading to his ejection after picking up two technical fouls for continuous complaining.

Sekulic defended Doncic’s actions on the floor where he was seen reacting to every non-calls and repeatedly complaining to the referees.

“It's difficult to play a game if you get hit constantly all game long. It's difficult to control the emotions and we worked a lot on this but it's very difficult,” said Sekulic after the game.

“He has the ball a lot in his hands and it's frustrating. You get tired from this. It's very difficult, that's why the emotions came up,” he added.

Doncic though still finished with an all-around effort of 26 points, five assists and four rebounds before exiting the game with still 6:37 left in the contest.

How the opposing teams were resorting to the physical defense against Doncic is just a testament at how great of a player the Dallas Maverick star is.

“I know it's not great, it doesn't look good but it's very difficult. And that's what makes Luka so special, because he's a great player and tough to guard in a legal way,” he added.

Doncic, for his part, acknowledged the need for him to control more of his emotions, especially being the leader of the Slovenian team.

“It starts with me and I got to be better for my team. With all the emotions, like I say, playing for your country, you’re gonna give your best and you wanna die out there. It starts with me for sure,” said Doncic