Georgia beats Croatia in EuroBasket qualifier, playoffs ahead

Georgia’s national basketball team is through to the EuroBasket 2015 playoffs following an emphatic win against Croatia this week, meaning the Georgian side will now travel to France with 15 other teams to compete in the knock-out stage of the prestigious European competition.

In Thursday night’s match in the Croatian capital Zagreb, Georgia needed to defeat the host side but were also reliant on the results of the Greece-Netherlands match in order to progress to the next stage of competition. 

The Georgia-Croatia game was tough – Croatia had the advantage with about seven and a half minutes to go but Georgia did not give in to defeat and, after scoring 18 consecutive points, the match ended in Georgia’s favour with a final score of 71-58.

One of Georgia’s key match players was Viktor Sanikidze, who scored 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and four blocks. His contribution, combined with Greece’s defeat over the Netherlands 68-65, allowed Georgia to secure the fourth spot in Group C and advance to the playoff stage, where the side will now challenge Group D winners Lithuania.

This was the second group stage win for the Georgian basketball team, managed by Igor Kokoskov, however the team has succumbed with losses against the Netherlands, Greece and Slovenia.

The first knockout stage fixtures will be played on September 12 and 13 in Lille, France.

See highlights from Thursday’s group C decider below: