A strong team effort that some are already describing as one of the best performances ever has propelled Slovenia to the quarter-finals of the Basketball World Cup after a 91:80 win over Australia.

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić was once again the best player on the team with 19 points, but Mike Tobey added 18 while Klemen Prepelič and Gregor Horvat tallied ten points each.

Slovenia led from tip-off to finish and Australia, a team with nine NBA players in their roster, never managed to get ahead.

"We knew that this is a make-or-break game for Australia and we tackled it the same way," said Dončić, who lauded the strong team effort.

"We played together, we stuck together throughout the game and believed in ourselves even though refereeing was not in our favour. I guarantee you this team will always give it their best," he said.

Coach Aleksander Sekulić said it was "almost eerie" seeing Australia's high-quality line-up. "But hat tip to my boys for how they managed to control the game from the first to the last minute. It was a pleasure watching them."

Slovenia have one more game in the second round, against Germany on 3 September, but the only thing that game will decide is who tops group K.