TBILISI (FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers) – Georgia star Zaza Pachulia has helped his team go 2-0 in Group F of the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers but on Wednesday they are facing off with Montenegro who are not only also off to a perfect start but also the highest-scoring side so far in this campaign.

The new Golden State Warriors center visited with FIBA.com to discuss the mouth-watering Gameday 3 clash, Nikola Vucevic and the Georgian national team’s prospects.

FIBA.com: What does Montenegro’s impressive start in the Qualifiers tell you?
Pachulia: They are a good team, really good team. They are balanced, have experienced players and they are well-coached. I know coach Bogdan Tanjevic very well from my time in Turkey, he has worked at great teams and had a lot of success throughout his career. But our advantage is that we are playing at home and if we use the energy of our crowd we should be fine.

"It is a huge honour and responsibility to represent my country, these people have given me so much throughout the years so it is a sort of payback." - Pachulia

FIBA.com: Is Wednesday’s game the most crucial for Georgia in this campaign?
Pachulia: Obviously with a win we would make a big, huge step towards qualifying for next year’s EuroBasket. We should defend our home court and take care of business. We need to play smart, help each other both offensively and defensively. It’s not going to be an easy game but like I said playing at home should be in our favour, so I am really looking forward to it.

FIBA.com: You have played against Nikola Vucevic numerous times in the NBA, what should fans expect from Wednesday’s match-up?
Pachulia: It’s different when playing on the national team from our games in the NBA because players have different roles, you play alongside different players, in different systems, European basketball is different in general. Playing against Nikola is going to be fun, two quality big men going against each other, but at the same time this is a team sport, it’s all about the team. He is a great player, he’s proven it through these years but here we’re both going to try help our team win this game.

FIBA.com: After eight years, Georgia has a new coach and a new playing style in these Qualifiers, what defines it and can you be as successful as previously?
Pachulia: We had coach [Igor] Kokoskov for quite a lot of years and he really did a great job for us, for Georgian basketball, for our country. He helped us to succeed, we started out from Division B, we went up to Division A and then to EuroBasket three times in a row. Now with coach [Ilias] Zouros it is obviously a different style, there is a learning process and you can always learn something new, it is the little details that make a difference in your game. He is very experienced, he has coached very good teams throughout his career and it’s fun to play for him. He cares about defence and he is a players’ coach, he is close to the guys and he wants to win. Hopefully we can succeed and make it back to the EuroBasket again.

FIBA.com: In that case it would be a fourth consecutive FIBA EuroBasket for both you and Georgia, what would this streak mean to you?
Pachulia: It’s always fun for me to represent my country by playing for the national team. It is a huge honour and responsibility and these people have given me so much throughout the years, so it is a sort of payback. Representing the country, winning games, going to EuroBasket is a huge deal because every success matters for our country. So it is huge responsibility for me as the captain for the team and one of the leaders and I take it very seriously.

FIBA