Georgia load up with best players for World Cup bow

TBILISI (Georgia) - Georgia are going to be at full strength for their first FIBA Basketball World Cup appearance, following today's announcement of their impressive squad.

Gearing up for Group F opponents Slovenia, Cape Verde and Venezuela in Okinawa, Georgia's charge will be spearheaded by Tornike Shengelia and Georgi Shermadini, two of the best to ever wear the national team jersey.

Both have been leading players in Europe in recent times. Shermadini was named Player of the Year in Spain's Liga Endesa this season after a superb performance for Lenovo Tenerife. Shengelia did, from 2012-14, have a spell in the NBA with the Brooklyn Nets and Chicago Bulls but is best known for being a star with Baskonia, CSKA Moscow and Virtus Bologna.

Joining the two heavyweights will be veteran guard Duda Sanadze, NBA duo Goga Bitadze and Sandro Mamukelashvili and point guards Thaddus McFadden and Rati Andronikashvili.

Bitadze spent the better part of four seasons with the Indiana Pacers, starting in 2019, before being traded in March to Orlando.

Mamukelashvili averaged team highs of 15.2 points and 11.0 rebounds per game at last year's EuroBasket for Georgia. Having joined the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, he was waived by the club on March 1 and then claimed by San Antonio a couple of days later.

 
Giorgi Tsintsadze, who has been with the national team since it played at the FIBA EuroBasket for the first time in 2011, is included.

Others in the squad are Beka Bekauri, Mikheil Berishvili, Merab Bokolishvili, Kakhaber Jintcharadze, Giorgi Korsantia, Levan Gogichaishvili, Nikoloz Gaprindashvili, Luka Liklikadze, Giorgi Turdziladze and Davit Kakushadze.

Georgia could not hope for a better list and the basketball fans in the country are now looking closely at the preparation games schedule for their national team.

FIBA