Plenty of fans circled Serbia versus France as a mouth-watering Quarter-Final clash at FIBA EuroBasket 2025. Instead, the script was flipped. Two underdogs, Finland and Georgia, ripped through expectations and proved once again that games are won on the hardwood, not on paper.
The night belonged to Georgia, who joined Finland in the last eight. Echoes of “Sakartvelo! Sakartvelo!” filled the arena as the Georgians celebrated another giant-slaying triumph, following up their opening-day shock of defending champions Spain with an 80-70 win over 2022 finalists France.
Turning Point
This wasn’t a fluke or a lucky punch. Georgia dictated tempo from the start, keeping France behind for all but four minutes of the game. Still, the lead never ballooned beyond nine, setting up a nail-biting conclusion.
France clawed back in the final quarter, erasing a nine-point gap with a trio of three-pointers to tie the game at 66 with just four minutes left. Then came the moment that tilted the balance.
Tornike Shengelia drilled a huge three-pointer to swing the lead back, and Kamar Baldwin calmly sank three free throws soon after, stretching the cushion to 74-68 with just over a minute remaining. That sequence effectively slammed the door on France’s comeback.
TCL Player of the Game
Kamar Baldwin picked the perfect stage for his EuroBasket breakout, exploding for a career-high 24 points on a near-flawless 8-of-10 shooting night.
He directed Georgia’s offense with poise and aggression, while veteran leader Shengelia matched him shot-for-shot with 24 points of his own. Together, they carried the scoring load and punished France at key moments.
Stats Don’t Lie
Georgia’s shooting made the difference. They connected on 10-of-18 from beyond the arc, their sharpest long-range performance of the tournament, while France misfired all night from deep, hitting just 6-of-36. That 12-point swing from three-point range proved insurmountable.
Bottom Line
Another upset for the books. Georgia, in just their sixth EuroBasket appearance, are through to the Quarter-Finals for the very first time. They will savor the moment back home, but the celebrations won’t last too long – Finland awaits in a historic showdown of surprise packages.
Coach Aleksandar Dzikic’s fingerprints were all over the win. His team stayed disciplined, refused to lose composure during France’s runs, and executed their game plan to the end.
France, meanwhile, was left shell-shocked. Missing headline stars like Victor Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert, and Evan Fournier, the team still carried high expectations, but now must digest only their second failure to reach the top eight in the last quarter-century.
They Said
“Serbia was out, France is out. But Finland is one hell of a team and we gotta come out ready.” – Alexander Sandro Mamukelashvili, Georgia, keeping eyes fixed on the challenge ahead.
“This is the first time this happened, we won against France. Unbelievable! Unbelievable! I’m really happy, congrats to teammates, everyone, all our fans in Georgia and here. France are amazing, but today we played better in defense and offense.” – Giorgi Shermadini, Georgia.
“One of the best teams in the world for many, many years… In the huddle before the game, I told the guys that the environment around us is that we’ve achieved our goal, but we were going to play to win. We never stopped fighting, believing. Extremely proud. I wanna thank the people who came this far to Riga to support us, we felt the extra energy.” – Tornike Shengelia, Georgia.
HISTORY FOR SAKARTVELO 🇬🇪, FRANCE ARE OUT OF EUROBASKET 😳#EuroBasket
— FIBA EuroBasket (@EuroBasket) September 7, 2025
