What Georgia's World Cup first win means to Shengelia

OKINAWA (Japan) - Toko Shengelia can't hide his pride of being a part of this batch that brought Georgia to their first-ever trip to the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

SUCH A SMALL COUNTRY LIKE US, GOING TO THE WORLD CUP, BEING ONE OF THE 32 TEAMS, IT'S A PRIVILEGE FOR US.

The 31-year-old star forward said that he always dreamt to see the day that the Jvarosnebi get to play in basketball's biggest stage, thus the immense fulfillment to not only witness it happen but to actually be in the center of such an historic achievement.

"It means the world to me," he said. "We did a lot to be here. A lot of sacrifices, a lot of injuries, we went through a lot of losses, a lot of ups and downs."

"But finally to make it here, and me being in the captain role - and I like to lead this team to the World Cup - it means a lot to me. It's a dream come true."

Georgia debuted on Saturday night at the Okinawa Arena here, and they announced their arrival by way of an 85-60 victory over Cape Verde in a battle between two newcomers.

Shengelia was on the forefront of the triumph with 16 points and 7 rebounds en route to earning TCL Player of the Game honors, showing yet again how much he's embraced being their leader.

He's one of those which the others, especially the younger ones, really look up to, having been part of the men's program for over a decade now. 

"We have a great captain Toko who kinda holds everything down and kinda brings that roughness and tough mindset from those years because he was here," said Sandro Mamukelashvili.

"He's just a great leader to be around. He's a great inspirational guy, with him, his history, his knowledge," added the San Antonio Spur.

Definitely, Shengalia has seen it all.

He was part of the Georgia team that made it to their first EuroBasket trip in 2011, together with Giorgi Shermadini. Now, he's helping lead a squad that's now in the midst of its maiden World Cup appearance, big thanks to a successful run in the European Qualifiers.

"We are very happy to be here. We feel blessed," said the Virtus Bologna big man, who averaged 19.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.3 assists for a 21.1 efficiency rating in 7 games in the Qualifiers.

But the satisfaction for Shengelia, really, comes from making an entire country proud, and giving hope to the future of Georgian basketball at the same time.

"Such a small country like us, going to the World Cup, being one of the 32 teams, it's a privilege for us," he said. "Everybody in our country is happy, everybody's looking forward to this tournament. It's a big thing for the Georgian youth basketball players as well."

FIBA