TBILISI (Georgia) - Georgia have established themselves on the continental stage as they make their sixth consecutive FIBA EuroBasket appearance. They also have advanced from the first round twice and will be hungry to make it three times this summer.
Georgia advanced to the second group stage in their EuroBasket debut in 2011 and registered a best-ever 11th place. Four years later they reached the Round of 16 but lost to Lithuania. Georgia failed to get out of the group in 2022 as hosts with just one victory.
Aleksandar Dzikic's team will come into the tournament with lofty dreams, but Toko Shengelia, Goga Bitadze, Sandro Mamukelashvili and company know they first must emerge from a tough group in Cyprus if they want to make history.
Schedule
August 28: vs Spain (14:00 CET) August 30: vs Italy (14:00 CET) August 31: vs Greece (14:00 CET) September 2: vs Cyprus (17:15 CET) September 4: vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (14:00 CET)
Star Player
Toko Shengelia is the heart and soul of this Georgia team and he has shown it on numerous occasions, going above and beyond to play as many qualifying games as he can. The power forward will be playing in his fourth EuroBasket. He missed the 2013 event with a knee injury and couldn't play in 2022 due to a shoulder injury. The latter was particularly aggravating since his home country was co-hosting.
Shengelia doesn't appear to be slowing down at all at age 33 and even joined Barcelona this off-season on a long-term contract. The Tbilisi native remains a threat any time he touches the ball anywhere on offense. Shengelia shot 36 percent from long range last season with Virtus Bologna and is still as passionate and hard-working on the glass.
Shengelia helped Georgia reach the FIBA Basketball World Cup for the first time in 2023 and averaged 15.5 points, 4 rebounds and 2.5 steals. His last EuroBasket dates back to 2017, when he collected 18.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists. And his numbers in the EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers were outstanding with 22.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists. When Shengelia plays, good things tend to happen. And Coach Dzikic will hope for more of that this summer.
History
Georgia reached the sweet 16 on two occasions, finishing 11th in Lithuania in 2011, and pushing Lithuania for 40 minutes in 2015, as they lost 85-81 in the Round of 16 and finished 15th in France. They were somewhat disappointed in 2022, not making it out of the group despite having homecourt advantage, getting only a 1-4 record. Maybe that fuels their motivation in August and September, searching for their first Top 10 finish ever.
Best finish: 11th in 2011
EuroBasket Top Scorers
Rank | Player | Games | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Otar Korkia | 36 | 357 |
2 | Toko Shengelia | 19 | 257 |
3 | Manuchar Markoishvili | 23 | 246 |
4 | Giorgi Shermadini | 29 | 227 |
5 | Viktor Sanikidze | 19 | 220 |
6 | Zaza Pachulia | 16 | 216 |
7 | Zurab Sakandelidze | 36 | 201 |
8 | George Tsintsadze | 27 | 170 |
9 | Duda Sanadze | 19 | 149 |
10 | Mikhail Korkia | 20 | 129 |
HoHow they qualified
Gameday 1: DEN 75-69 GEO Gameday 2: GEO 63-76 SRB Gameday 3: FIN 83-90 GEO Gameday 4: GEO 81-64 FIN Gameday 5: GEO 62-60 DEN Gameday 6: SRB 63-54 GEO
Poll: Where will they finish?
Tickets
FIBA