Georgian national basketball team wins first-ever match at World Cup against Cape Verde
Goga Bitadze, the Georgian basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association, has become the top scorer with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Photo via FIBA
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The debutant Georgian national basketball team has claimed its first win at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, defeating Cape Verde by 85:60 in the first match on Saturday at Okinawa Arena in Japan.
Goga Bitadze, the Georgian basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association, has become the top scorer with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Goga Bitadze's 15 PTS, 11 REB double-double helps Georgia win big! #FIBAWC x #WinForGeorgia pic.twitter.com/F0veTAcqRX
— FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 ???? (@FIBAWC) August 26, 2023
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili congratulated the team on their first win in his social media post.
The Georgian team, coached by Ilias Zouros, made history in February by earning a spot at the tournament.
Photo via Georgian Basketball Federation
Georgia will play against Slovenia on Monday and Venezuela on Wednesday.
The Georgian national anthem has just been performed at the FIBA Basketball World Cup for the first time in history, with the Georgian basketball team playing its first-ever match against Cape Verde at this moment in Japan’s city of Okinawa.
The Georgian national basketball team will play in its first World Cup after earning a spot at the tournament on Sunday despite losing to Iceland 80-77 in its final qualifying game.
Georgia’s national team edged closer to qualifying for the 2023 Basketball World Cup for the first time after their defeat of the Netherlands in a qualifying match for the tournament on Thursday in the Dutch city of Almere.
The Georgian national basketball team has a “historic chance” to qualify for the World Championship in a FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers match against Iceland on February 26 at the Tbilisi Arena in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, the Georgian Basketball Federation said on Wednesday.
Goga Bitadze, a player of Georgia’s national basketball team, on Tuesday said the squad would “fight only for victory” against Venezuela tomorrow in its third match of the ongoing FIBA World Cup.
The Georgian national basketball team on Wednesday defeated Venezuela 70:59 and qualified for the second group stage of the FIBA World Cup.