Last Tbilisi ticket to Berlin: Montenegro silence 8,100 in Georgia

TBILISI (Georgia) - Montenegro survived numerous highs and lows as they locked in third place in Group A in a 81-73 win over Georgia, for whom the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 has ended.

Even though their second half lead was put under threat on more than one occasion, Montenegro kept their cool with numerous important shots.

Georgia was as close as 65-62 with three minutes remaining before Vladimir Mihailovic knocked down a three-pointer after his own offensive rebound. The hosts never managed to come closer than six points again.

 
Turning point: Montenegro's leader Bojan Dubljevic fouled out with 6 minutes and 52 seconds to go. It seemed like a great opportunity for Georgia, but Montenegro held it together thanks to a fantastic team effort.

TCL Player of the Game: Igor Drobnjak kept his cool in important moments as the point guard finished the game with 22 points and 3 rebounds. The 22-year-old knocked down 9 of his 13 attempts from the field.

Stats don't lie: Montenegro took care of the ball well enough in a high-stakes environment. They had 20 team assists, with Kendrick Perry dishing out 9 of them. They committed just 10 turnovers as a team.

Bottom line: For the second EuroBasket in a row Montenegro advance to Round of 16 as the third seed in their group and will take on the Final Phase hosts Germany. Georgia exit their first EuroBasket on home court with one victory and four losses, out of which three came in emotional and dramatic games.

They said:

"Every game we try to control the rhythm, especially on offense. All tournament long we have played very good defense. When we play like that, almost every time we are close to victory. We are not a run and gun team." - Montenegro coach Bosko Radovic

"When you play for the country, it's for the joy and to make our people proud. I don't think that individual stats should be important. We don't come here for money, fame or to make ourselves more available to clubs. Everybody should know his role. That made this success." - Dino Radoncic, Montenegro

"We need more young players to be involved and become better. These players don't have the experience. It's very difficult for the players who are in the domestic league to play in front of 8,000 people and have the pressure to qualify." - Georgia coach Ilias Zouros

"I feel very good when I play for the national team. When there is a window, I am the first player who is going there. I tried to do my best to help the team. Today we fought, but it wasn't enough." - Giorgi Shermadini, Georgia

 
FIBA