Just like how they swept all games against Macedonia, the Slovenian national basketball team won all exhibition matches against Croatia last weekend. Everything continued to come up roses as it was also announced that Sasha Vujacic’s knee injury has finally healed. On Tuesday, Sasha traveled with his teammates to Sevilla, Spain for a series of exhibition games against Lithuania, Spain, and Great Britain.

“The first couple of days, I had tough practices,” Sasha said in a phone interview with the Los Angeles Times. “I had a little bit of running. I rejoined the national team, and I’m looking forward to our next game.”

The Slovenian team’s winning streak and Sasha’s excitement were only short-lived, though, as they lost to Lithuania and Spain in back-to-back games.

Although Sasha Vujacic was not the major contributor during the game against Lithuania, coach Jure Zdovc commented that he was not really expecting a lot from Sasha’s first exhibition match. He pointed out that it is more important for Sasha to find his feel for the game first. This is obviously due to the fact that Sasha’s injury forced him to miss a few weeks of practices and exhibition matches. Coach Zdovc then said that Sasha will have to invest more effort so he could come back and play the way he is expected to.

The next day, while Sasha’s Lakers teammate Pau Gasol was only watching the game from the bench as he is still recuperating from his surgery, Sasha was more productive with his increased playing time against Spain as he scored five points and one rebound.

Sasha Vujacic’s final test in Sevilla will kick off Friday, August 21, at 9:15AM Los Angeles time.

Interview sources: LA Times, Kosarka