Georgia's Rati Andronikashvili on Qualifiers: ''When I went from being on the bench to entering the game, it was the best moment of my life''

BELGRADE (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - It's no mean feat to earn an invitation to a Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Europe camp with so many talented youngsters champing at the bit to take part.

Georgia's Rati Andronikashvili featured at last week's BWB camp in Belgrade, by which time he had already accomplished another big achievement this summer.

The 17-year-old playmaker was called into his country's senior national squad for the third window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup European Qualifiers. He made the team coached by Ilias Zouros and then played 3 minutes in both Qualifiers against Serbia and Austria.

"THE MOMENT I WENT FROM BEING ON THE BENCH TO ENTERING THE GAME, THAT WAS THE BEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE. THE CROWD KNEW I WAS THE YOUNGEST PLAYER THERE AND THEY WERE SUPPORTING ME."- Andronikashvili

"It was the most exciting thing when they called me," he said. "They (national team veterans) were my dream players. When I was a kid, for my whole life, I was watching them. I want to thank them for calling me.

"Then I wasn't expecting to be called into the team but when I was one of the 12, I was just trying to help in any way that I could from the bench."

Andronikashvili didn't know if he would play, but he did. In the June 29 clash with Serbia in Tbilisi, the 1.93m (6ft 4in) guard entered the game late to warm applause.

"The moment that I went from being on the bench to entering the game, that was the best moment of my life," he said. "The crowd knew I was the youngest player there and they were supporting me. It was the most exciting moment of my life."

The Georgia crowd saw Andronikashvili make his senior team bow as a 17-year-old against Serbia

After falling to Serbia, 87-50, Georgia needed a second victory in the Qualifiers over the Austrians to punch their ticket to the Second Round and they got it, prevailing 98-73.

Andronikashvili later played for Georgia at the FIBA U18 European Championship Division B, which was staged in Skopje from July 27 to August 5.

While he doesn't know if Zouros will have him in the senior squad for the September 13 game at Israel and then against Greece in Tbilisi three days later, Andronikashvili is certainly mentally prepared to be there. He understands that Georgia have their backs against the wall and need as many wins as they can get to have a chance of sneaking into next year's 32-team World Cup in China.

"WE HAD TO CHANGE THE GENERATION WITH SOME VETERANS NOT THERE. WE HAD TO LEARN AND DO AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. IT'S MUCH BETTER IF YOU ARE GOOD, OR A PROSPECT, WHEN THEY CALL YOU AT 18 THAN WHEN THEY CALL YOU AT 25."- Andronikashvili

The top three sides from each of the four Second Round Groups will make it to the event in the Far East and in Group L, Georgia are in fifth place with the 2-4 record.

"We always have the same mindset and that is to win, no matter what, no matter who we play," he said. "We are playing Greece, Israel. We know these are good teams but we are ready to compete. I look at it like they have to prepare for us and we have to play our game."

While he is not a player that is getting big minutes yet for his national team, the experience is nevertheless helping both Andronikashvili and Goga Bitadze, the 19-year-old center who has gotten a lot of time on the court.

Goga Bitadze is another Georgia youngster to get valuable minutes in the Qualifiers

The 2.10m (6ft 11in) Bitadze has proven to be a real tower of power for Georgia and has played in all six Qualifiers. He averaged 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in the First Round. The European Qualifiers have allowed Bitadze to get a lot more minutes and, clearly, accelerate his career.

"It is really good when we can get experience from a young age," Andronikashvili said. "We had to change the generation with some veterans not there. We had to learn and do as much as possible. It's much better if you are good, or a prospect, when they call you at 18 than when they call you at 25.

Andronikashvili had to dribble through traffic at the FIBA U18 European Championship Division B

"With the example of Goga at the center position, we have veteran Giorgi Shermadini and he's a really good player. If he would have been available, that would have meant Goga wouldn't get a chance until he's 21 or 22 but now, as they changed the system, they let Goga play and he's one of the best Georgian players now.

For Andronikashvili, the entire experience has been about learning and he's been able to do that with the help of Zouros and veteran point guard George Tsintsadze.

"Tsintsadze is at my position and he was called when he was 17," Andronikashvili said. "I love watching him and competing with them. That's how you learn. I always ask him questions, too, a million questions, and he's always open to that and he really helps me, knowing that I'll have that position one day when he retires."

"Zouros is the best coach I've ever had. He's a professional, knows his job and we have talks between coach and player. He always tells me to talk to him if I have a problem or don't understand something. He can stop the training and we can go over it. If it were another coach, it would be really tough but he made it really easy for me."

Georgia will indeed find it tough to reach China but even if they do not, this European Qualifiers has had a lot of positives. Among the biggest has been the introduction of Andronikashvili to the big time.

FIBA