Basketball World Cup: Georgia prepares for historic debut

High-profile moments and competitive spirit will return to the world basketball arena when the long-awaited Basketball World Cup kicks off on August 25. This is a historic event for Georgia, as its national team will take part in this tournament for the first time in history.

The championship will be held in three Asian countries: Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia. The participating teams are divided into eight groups of four teams each. The second stage of the group matches awaits the two best teams from each group.

Georgia ended up in Group F and will take the field against the teams of Slovenia, Cape Verde and Venezuela. The top two from this group will advance to Group O, where Australia, Finland, Japan and Germany are waiting for them.

The teams that failed to qualify for the second group stage will also continue to fight and determine their places from the seventeenth to the thirty-second.

The top eight teams from the second group stage will advance to the quarterfinals, followed by the semifinals and the final. All these meetings will be held in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

And the main event for Georgian basketball players:

August 26

- 12:00 Cape Verde - Georgia

- 15:30 Slovenia - Venezuela

August 28

- 12:00 Venezuela - Cape Verde

- 15:30 Georgia - Slovenia

August 30

- 12:00 Georgia - Venezuela

- 15:30 Slovenia - Cape Verde

It should be noted that shortly before the start of the tournament, the FIBA world basketball authority published an interesting publication about the Georgian national team. According to experts, the Georgian national team will be able to rely on two legendary basketball players of all time - Tornike "Toko" Shengelia and Giorgi Shermadini.

The article notes that these veterans were the best scorers of the team at the qualifying stage. Shengelia averaged 19.5 points and 7.6 rebounds, while Shermadini averaged 16.3 points.

An interesting point: along with experienced stars, the Georgian national team is supported by two young basketball players - Goga Bitadze and Sandro Mamukelashvili.

Sports analysts emphasize that for a successful performance in the tournament, in addition to veterans, proper interaction with reserve players is also necessary.