TBILISI (Georgia) - The time is now for the Georgian national team, Georgian basketball and, you could say, for the whole country of Georgia. The wait is over: Tbilisi is co-hosting FIBA EuroBasket for the first time in history.  For a country that passionately loves the sport and has so much tradition in it, this tournament is set to become something very special.

But with so much attention and high expectations, the pressure is on Ilias Zouros's side to deliver. Georgian fans want to witness victories at the new Tbilisi Arena and they want to see their national team make history as well – to qualify for the knockout stage of FIBA EuroBasket for the first time ever.

So far, Georgia came closest to this achievement in 2011 when they reached the second Group Phase in Lithuania, but only to finish in 11th place in the final standings. This will be Georgia’s second EuroBasket campaign with the Greek coach at the helm, after they failed to advance from Tel Aviv in 2017 due to an inferior head-to-head record with Ukraine.

Georgia are heading to their second EuroBasket campaign with Ilias Zouros at the helm

Georgia qualified as co-hosts, but still took part in the Qualifiers to have an opportunity to play competitive games in the run-up to the tournament. They finished second in Group E with four wins including an impressive victory over Serbia in Belgrade. It came about after an incredible performance from Thad McFadden, with 33 points, and with Giorgi Shermadini posting 23 points and 11 rebounds as the Georgians sent a big message around Europe: there’s no team we can’t beat.

Zouros now has all the country's top players for EuroBasket, including one of the strongest frontcourts in the competition and the aforementioned scoring ace McFadden.  Local prodigy Rati Andronikashvili will be helping McFadden with the backcourt duties, while Giorgi Tsintsadze can help the team with a limitless amount of experience and organizing the half-court offense. Zouros will also be able to get some scoring from the team’s debutant at a major tournament in Kakhaber Jintcharadze and from Duda Sanadze, another team veteran who is gearing up for his fourth EuroBasket in a row.

With his athleticism and defensive prowess, Beka Burjanadze seems to be an obvious choice at the starting small forward position, unless Zouros would like to go big and play his captain Toko Shengelia at this spot. The Georgian team captain does have some experience at playing on the wing and by now we are well aware that Shengelia would do whatever it takes for his side to succeed. And that includes sacrificing his usual role on the court to accommodate more bigs in the starting line-up.

Georgia has no shortage of solid big men. Sandro Mamukelashvili can stretch the floor with his solid three-point shot while a duo of Giorgi Shermadini and Goga Bitadze is something any coach would dream of at the center position. Shermadini enters this EuroBasket as one of the elite centers in the Spanish ACB so don’t be surprised if he steals the show in Tbilisi.

Georgia’s squad looks pretty well balanced, and on paper at least they should be able to get a ticket to Berlin. If you add to that the fact the crowd at Tbilisi Arena will act as the sixth man then, who knows, we might even be looking at one of the favorites in Group A.

 IN THE LAST 10 FIBA EVENTS

  (QUALIFIED AS CO-HOSTS) COMPETED IN THE FIBA EUROBASKET 2022 QUALIFIERS - 2nd IN GROUP E (4W - 2L)

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