People are happy around Luka, according to Sasa Doncic, who is proud of his kid.

Several hours prior to the start of the 2017 Eurobasket final. The Sinan Erden Arena in Istanbul has a smoking section. Luka Doncic’s father, Sasa Doncic, was always moving. Serbia and Slovenia were playing for the gold medal. His kid, who was eighteen, was just one win away from winning the title of European champion.

“Look at my shirt,” Sasa Doncic smiled, wet and still sweating. And it wasn’t just because of a sweltering September day in Istanbul.

Sasa was about to finish his second pack of cigarettes that day. Actually, at that particular moment, he was going for the second cigarette in five minutes. He was about to step in front of the cameras as the Slovenian television 24UR was getting ready to preview the gold medal game between Slovenia and Serbia.

“It’s been a long day,” Sasa added. “I can’t understand what’s going on in my head right now. But soon, it will be a historical moment because we will win the final. I have no doubt. We will win the EuroBasket 100%.”

Midway through the third quarter Luka Doncic left the court due to an injury and never came back. Goran Dragic, a team leader, couldn’t play through the pain anymore and went to the sidelines with few minutes to play. But Klemen Prepelic and Anthony Randolph hit some clutch shots, and the euphoria started.

“Never before and never after that, to be honest,” Sasa smiles, asked if he had ever been so nervous after that day.

“Sasa was making jokes, and he was not regular. And people really liked it,” Sanja recalls.

“When you have results… Everything looks nice,” Sasa adds.