LIMASSOL (Cyprus) - Georgia started their FIBA EuroBasket 2025 campaign in perfect fashion by upsetting reigning champions Spain 83-69 - showing that preparation results for a tournament don't mean a thing.
Georgia lost all six of their warmup games, but all that was forgotten when they arrived in sunny Cyprus and moved into their beachside hotel. Aleksandar Dzikic's team withstood every challenge by the four-time winners Spain for a massive win in their hunt to advance from Group C.
Turning Point
In the first EuroBasket game played in Cyprus - the 28th country to host a game in the competition's history - Georgia wasted a 10-point first quarter lead and fell behind briefly late in the second quarter. But they pulled back ahead by 10 points again at 57-47.
The cushion was 61-51 in the fourth quarter when Spain showed their heart by getting the margin to 61-58. But Georgia delivered the knockout punch with an 11-2 surge to make it 72-60 with 4 minutes to play.
TCL Player of the Game
Sandro Mamukelashvili showcased his all-around game for Georgia as he collected 19 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. The NBA power forward became only the second Georgian player with to have a 15/5/5 statline in a EuroBasket game, after Tornike Shengelia, who did it twice.
Stats Don't Lie
Georgia dominated the glass with a 46-29 rebound advantage including grabbing 16 offensive rebounds. Also, Spain's 46.2 percent accuracy from the free throw line line (6 of 13) was just their second game with fewer than 50 percent from the line in a EuroBasket game over the last 30 years.
Bottom Line
Georgia already have one big victory as they fight for a top-four spot in the group. They face the next big test with a showdown against Italy, knowing a 2-0 start would go a long way to booking a spot for Riga.
Spain for their part must bounce back quickly as they face what many could consider a must-win game next against Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was the first time Spain have lost their opening EuroBasket game against a team other than Serbia or Yugoslavia since falling to Italy in 1983's first contest.
They Said
"It's good that we beat Spain, it's better than to lose of course. But we just need to keep our focus on our goal, and that is super hard. But we'll try." - Aleksandar Dzikic, Georgia
"We are here to play. We are not here to have fun. We are not okay with just coming out there and go playing. We want to win and get out of the group. This is the right start and we just have to keep going." - Alexander Mamukelashivili, Georgia
"This is just another game for us. We’ve been saying every single day we are here to win every game. We really stayed together and showed the Georgian soul and all the hard work paid off. The job is not finished, now our confidence is high that we can beat any team." - Goga Bitadze, Georgia
"We have had these beginnings of tournaments but at the end they did not go so well for us. We just reminded that fact to ourselves. But it doesn't mean we are not happy with this victory, especially against such a great team like Spain." - Beka Burjanadze, Georgia
"It was my fault not being able to show and convince my team that this team is much bigger and more physical than us and we needed to make a super extra effort to match that physicality and we didn't do that." - Sergio Scariolo, Spain
"They were more ready than us. They wanted it more than us. They had more desire. They went for 50-50 balls. We knew that they play really physical but we we're ready in our mind or body. It's a long tournament and we know how to win." - Juancho Hernangomez, Spain
For more quotes, tune in to the official post-game press conference!
FIBA