FIBA EuroBasket: Georgia upsets defending champ Spain

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Georgia kicked off its FIBA EuroBasket campaign with a stunning win over defending champion Spain, 83-69, on Aug. 28, 2025, in Cyprus.

Following Portugal’s historic moment when it halted an 18-year losing streak in the tournament, Georgia next made headlines after handing powerhouse Spain its first defeat in EuroBasket.

Just like Portugal’s signature underdog victory over Czechia, the Georgians flipped the script and spoiled the majority’s expectations, cruising past the higher-ranked Spain in dominant fashion.

Georgia quickly built momentum after jumping into the driver’s seat, blitzing to a 10-point lead early in the first quarter.

However, Spain answered with a huge run midway through the second and eventually stole the advantage for a brief moment at the half.

Little did Spain know that a massive avalanche from Georgia was about to come, as it came out piping hot, edging Spain in three-point shooting and pushing the lead back to double digits.

Spain showed resilience as it trimmed the deficit to just three points, 61-58, and posed a scare to the Georgian side, prompting an emergency timeout.

That short break proved to be the momentum-stopper for the Spaniards, as Georgia unleashed an 11-2 surge for a 72-60 lead—a mountain Spain failed to climb in the final four minutes of the game.

Spearheading Georgia’s huge win was NBA power forward Sandro Mamukelashvili, who finished with an all-around outing of 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

The Toronto Raptors player left his imprint on the game, exposing Spain’s slow pick-and-pop defensive coverage, which he exploited all night long.

Backstopping Mamukelashvili was Goga Bitadze, another NBA big man under contract with the Orlando Magic.

Bitadze’s presence in the shaded lane helped Georgia control the rebounding battle, 46-29, and he ended up with 15 markers, five boards and a block.

“It’s good that we beat Spain, it’s better than to lose, of course,” said Georgia’s head coach Aleksandar Dzikic after the win.

“But we just need to keep our focus on our goal, and that is super hard—but we’ll try.”