Georgia defeats Albania in first Eurobasket qualifier match

Georgia's national basketball team began its Eurobasket 2017 European Basketball Championship qualifiers campaign on a high by comfortably defeating Albania in a home game yesterday.

Georgia won the game with a 39-point difference, with Albania offering little resistance to the host team's performance under coach Ilias Zouros.

The match at Tbilisi's Sports Palace ended with a score of 86-47 and gave Georgia two points to jointly lead Group F in the Eurobasket qualifiers.

Georgia's dominance in the game allowed coach Zouros to field a mix of experienced young players, allowing them to develop game understanding on the court. This also meant Zouros was able to rest Michael Dixon, who is currently recovering from a knee injury.

Tornike Shengelia was a valuable player for Georgia, scoring 12 points and six blocks. Photo from Khatia Jijeishvili.

The Georgian side finished all four quarters of the game ahead of Albania; leading with the most points in the second quarter that finished with a score 24-10.

Georgia's star performer Viktor Sanikidze scored 20 points, seven rebounds, one assist and one block, benefiting from Giorgi Tsintsadze's assists.

Tornike Shengelia also played well; his contribution amounted to 12 points and six blocks.

The Eurobasket 2017 qualifying stage launched on Wednesday and will run until September 17. At the end of the competition 11 top national teams will proceed to the Eurobasket tournament, hosted in Israel, Finland, Romania and Turkey next year.

After the first game Georgia and Montenegro jointly lead Group F with two points, with Slovakia and Albania placing third and fourth respectively.

Next Georgia will play Slovakia in an away game on September 3. The game will be hosted at Hant Arena in Bratislava, Slovakia’s capital.