Georgian basketball team coach calls on squad to “find our soul” to win following EuroBasket defeat to Bulgaria

The Georgian national basketball team needs to “find our soul” to win again following its defeat to Bulgaria on Tuesday, head coach Ilias Zouros said in post-match comments to the media.

Zouros’ squad was defeated in the Group A game with a score of 80:92, making it difficult for them to progress to the playoffs of the competition. Their head coach was clearly dissatisfied with the result in the aftermath of the game, saying “if we had defence we would win” in comments for the press.

Photo: GBF.ge

In order to progress from their group, the national team now needs to win against Montenegro on Wednesday, in their final group match, while also depending on Belgium to defeat Bulgaria.

The results would see current group leaders Spain and Turkey, as well as last-placed Georgia and fourth-placed Belgium, enter the playoffs, while Bulgaria and Montenegro would fail to qualify.

The Georgian Basketball Federation called on Georgian fans to lend their support to Belgium in their match against Bulgaria on Wednesday - scheduled before Georgia’s own game against Montenegro - in a bid to see the scenario play out. The latter match will start at 9 pm local Tbilisi time.

Photo: GBF.ge

The Federation also announced Tuesday’s game had been the 200th match for the  national team player Giorgi Tsintsadze, making him the holder of most caps for the squad.