TBILISI (FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers) – Russia fired past Netherlands and Ukraine and then outlasted Georgia in a gripping thriller to claim the Tbilisi City Hall Cup and maintain their perfect record in warm-ups for the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers, but saw their star center Timofey Mozgov pick up a groin injury which casts some doubts over his participation in the qualifying campaign that tips off 31 August.

Mozgov underwent an MRI scan on Saturday and missed the last two games of the Tbilisi tournament. The extent of the new Los Angeles Lakers big man’s injury however will be determined after he is re-evaluated in a few days, according to a short statement released by the NBA club.

Playing without Mozgov and also without Aleksey Shved on Sunday night, Russia managed to build an 84-76 lead over Georgia with less than three minutes remaining in the clash that would decide first place in the tournament. The hosts however reacted swiftly and Toko Shengelia used a fantastic spin move to tie the scores at 86 shortly before the fourth buzzer and send the game into overtime.

Dmitry Khvostov sunk a three-pointer with 1:14 remaining in the extra period to cap off a 5-0 run which put Russia ahead 99-95 and the visitors held on for a 100-97 win. Vitaly Fridzon led Russia with 19 points and Andrey Zubkov added 17, while Shengelia finished with a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds in a losing effort.

"We had wanted to test ourselves without Shved and we got to try it on Sunday," said Russia head coach Sergey Bazarevich. "Maxim Kolyushkin played well, although he was a bit timid, which can be understood. Stanislav Ilnitsky was unlucky in some things, but he fulfilled all that was asked of him. We have seen that we have sufficient reserves, but of course we will welcome our big players back into the team."

Altough Georgia suffered their first loss in friendly games this summer, their head coach Ilias Zouros also drew positive conclusions. "Many players got time on the floor in these three consecutive games and I am satisfied with them," the Greek tactician said.

"This tournament showed us mistakes that we need to correct and this is a crucial moment in preparations to pay attention to detail. We will continue to work along these lines to be in the best possible shape on 31 August for the start of the official games."

In the game that decided third place in the tournament as both teams had lost their first two games in Tbilisi, Netherlands started off strong and grabbed a 13-point lead midway through the second quarter, but Ukraine replied with a thunderous 28-0 run to turn the game on its head and pick up a 76-68 victory.

Young forward Oleksandr Mishula paved the way for Ukraine with 21 points and Viacheslav Kravtsov added 18 points and eight boards while Charlon Kloof had 19 points for the Netherlands in defeat.

FIBA