Georgia’s basketball squad has concluded their European Championship campaign. The Georgian team was defeated 79-93 by Finland in the quarter-final.

The Finns are conducting the entire championship with one strategy: they shoot fast, and the moment any space opens up, they fire from the perimeter.

They sank 15 three-pointers against Serbia in the round of 16 and sent the favourites home. The Suomi (as the Finns call themselves) tactics were obviously studied by Georgia’s head coach, Alexander Djikic; his charges restricted space for their opponents as much as possible, but the rival still found shooting positions.

In the first half, Finland sank 10 out of 15 three-pointers, which is 30 points, and the opening 20 minutes finished 57-40.

For their part, Georgians were also effective from the perimeter (7 three-pointers in the first half), the team was scoring from the three-point zone as well, 40 points is not a bad result, though 57 conceded points is far too many.

In the third period, Georgia’s squad improved their defensive play, allowing Finland only two three-pointers and reducing the deficit to 62-71 before the fourth period.

In the fourth quarter, Djikic’s coached team got within 6 points of their opponents. However, Olivier Nkamhoua practically sank a three-pointer from the centre circle in the final seconds of the attack and restored the 9-point advantage. At the end of the period, Goga Bitadze and Tornike Shengelia received disqualifications and had to leave the game early.

In Georgia’s squad, Sandro Mamukelashvili was the best with 22 points, Duda Sanadze had 19 points and sank 5 three-pointers, Tornike Shengelia finished the match with 18 points, and Goga Bitadze had 14 points.

Numbers

Georgia’s squad met Finland for the tenth time in history, and the overall record is now 5:5.

For Georgia’s centre Giorgi Shermadini, this was his 200th match played for the national team.

The “Crusaders” finished EuroBasket in the quarter-finals, which is a historic result. Previously, the highest achievement was reaching the round of 16 (in 2015).