Georgia outshine Serbia, Italy and Greece for the Acropolis tournament crown in Athens
ATHENS (FIBA EuroBasket 2017) - The Ilias Zouros-coached Georgia showcased their potential ahead of FIBA EuroBasket 2017 by snatching up the Acropolis International Basketball Tournament laurels in Athens.
ATHENS (FIBA EuroBasket 2017) - The Ilias Zouros-coached Georgia showcased their potential ahead of FIBA EuroBasket 2017 by snatching up the Acropolis International Basketball Tournament laurels in Athens.
In spite of picking up a 73-65 defeat to Italy on Friday, the Georgian side still held on to top the star-studded field in the prestigious four-team tournament in the Greek capital, having previously registered momentous wins against Serbia and the home team Greece.
won so far 🏆🏆🏆
— GeorgiaNationalTeam (@_GeoBasketball) August 25, 2017
1. Klaipeda International Tournament✅
2. Tbilisi City Hall Cup✅
3. Acropolis International Tournament✅
...
NEXT? pic.twitter.com/cPZYcbi39m
It was the third tournament crown for Georgia in the friendly circuit this summer, who also won previous challenges in Klaipeda and Tbilisi and finished with an overall 6-2 record this summer.
With the team's leading scorer Tornike Shengelia given a night off and Zaza Pachulia's status for FIBA EuroBasket still pending, Giorgi Shermadini stepped up with 14 points and 9 rebounds for coach Zouros but couldn't get them over the edge.
🏆 in right hands@TokoShengelia23 averaged 1⃣7⃣.5⃣PTS 1⃣2⃣.5⃣REBS 3⃣.5⃣ASTS in 3⃣2⃣MIN@buutsintsadze averaged 1⃣1⃣PTS 4⃣.6⃣ASTS in 2⃣8⃣MIN pic.twitter.com/GWlMaPJ2C0
— GeorgiaNationalTeam (@_GeoBasketball) August 25, 2017
The biggest question surrounding the Georgian national team right now surrounds the availability of 33-year-old center Pachulia, who has been recovering from an ankle injury.
"It is a work in progress. I'm getting better and better and the trainers are doing a great job taking care of me," Pachulia told EuroHoops.net. "At the end of the day, it's a no brainer that I want to help my team and play in the EuroBasket. But at the same time, you have to be smart about it."
Pietro Aradori led the game with 17 points, while Marco Belinelli turned in an all-rounded performance of 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists for the Azzurri, who were also missing a key piece in Daniel Hackett.
Srbija osvojila drugo mesto na Acropolis kupu. Pobeda protiv Grcke rezultatom 67:65 na poslednjoj pripremnoj utakmici. #kss #reprezentacija pic.twitter.com/jqsL328ALY
— Košarkaški savez SRB (@KSSrbije) August 25, 2017
Serbia claimed second place in the tournament after handing Greece a 69-67 defeat with Dragan Milosavljevic leading the way with a game-high 17 points, while Kostas Sloukas had 15 for the Greeks, who lost three games in a row in Athens.
Greece will begin their campaign in the Helsinki-based Group A, Serbia are headed to Group D in Istanbul, while Georgia and Italy will be Group B rivals in Tel Aviv.
FIBA