Mike Tobey records double-double in Olympic debut as Slovenia beats Argentina

Former Virginia men’s basketball star Mike Tobey got his Olympics off to a hot start late Sunday night as his Slovenian squad knocked off Argentina, 118-100, in the opening game for both teams. Tobey scored 11 points on 5-for-10 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds in the win. It was a big win for the Slovenian team — which was also making its Olympic debut — and Tobey meshes well with NBA superstar Luka Doncic.

Doncic had 48 points in the victory and dished five assists.

Tobey is garnering a lot of on online chatter with his performance, with some Dallas Maverick fans on Twitter wanting Doncic to bring the 7-footer back to the NBA with him. After going un-drafted in 2016, Tobey has made a solid career for himself playing internationally in Spain. He played one season with Valencia, then moved to Iberostar Tenerife where he was named FIBA Intercontinental Cup MVP en route to a title. Tobey returned to Valencia in 2018, and has played with them ever since. He averaged 9.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game last season.

Slovenia is one of four teams in Group C — Spain, Japan, and Argentina are the others — and could have a good chance at moving on to the next round. Spain defeated Japan in their opening game, and Slovenia will next face Japan on Thursday at 12:40am.

Current Virginia center Francisco Caffaro was on the opposite side of the court from Tobey in the tournament opener as a member of the Argentinian squad. Caffaro only played four minutes, recording three fouls and no points.

On the women’s side, Aisha Mohammed Balarabe and the Nigerian squad will face off against former UVA star Dawn Staley and the USA on Tuesday. The US women are favorites for the gold, and they have won the last six Olympic gold medals in the sport. Staley, now coaching the US team, contributed to the gold medal squads in 1996, 2000, and 2004. The USA-Nigeria game is scheduled for 12:40am ET.