RIGA, Latvia (AP) — Georgia advanced to the quarterfinals at the EuroBasket tournament for the first time with a dominant 80-70 win against France on Sunday.
France was runner-up to Spain in the 2022 final but both teams failed to reach the quarterfinal stage this time. Georgia will face Finland, which knocked out Nikola Jokic’s Serbia side on Saturday.
Georgia's players sprinted off the bench at the end of the round-of-16 match, hugging and jumping up and down as their fans banged drums and danced in the crowd in Riga, Latvia.
“Unbelievable. I’m really happy, congrats to my teammates, everyone, all our fans in Georgia and here," Georgia veteran Giorgi Shermadini said. "France are amazing, but today we played better in defense and offense.”
Olympic silver medalist France made only six