Tbilisi: The Georgian National Basketball team has defeated the Netherlands Basketball team in the second round of a match for the upcoming world cup 2023 qualifiers at the newly completed Sports Palace in Tbilisi.
The Georgian team played under the guidance of the coach Ilias Zouros while they defeated the Netherlands team by 77:66. The captain of the team Tornike Shengelia became top scorer of the match by scoring 20 points for the team. Worthy De Jong, scoring 22 points, was the top scorer from the Netherlands Basketball team.
Tornike Shengelia had performed exceptionally well in the first half of the game against the Netherlands. However, he sustained an injury in the third quarter of the match at the score of 49:35 for the hosts and six minutes left till the end of the quarter. The captain, in an attempt to catch the ball, had slipped and fell on his shoulder. He left the court with teary eyes.
Unfortunately, for the Georgian team, captain Shengelia won’t be playing the next match as he suffered from an injury in the third quarter of the match. The captain will be undergoing shoulder surgery, implying the team would have to play the Eurobasket without Shengelia as their captain.
On the other hand, Thadd McFadden, who had been underplaying in preparatory games against Israel, Turkey , Poland and Greece, came out as a match saviour for the Georgian team. Thadd scored quick eight points in less than five minutes. The Netherlands had displayed an excellent class of defence but ended up being on the losing side.
Georgia would be facing Italy in their next match on August 27th.
