By Cesare Milanti/ info@eurohoops.net
Latvia, Riga – Georgia pulled an upset for the ages, beating France in the 2025 Eurobasket Round of 16, and Victor Wembanyama was missing.
His good friend and former teammate, Sandro Mamukelashvili, was there, having the time of his life!
As the Georgian big man said about beating the Olympic silver medalists: “I wish them nothing but the best, but right now I can text Victor Wembanyama and tell him we just beat France, and it’s too bad he was not here because we would beat them with him too”.
Speaking about the game, Mamu added: “I feel amazing. What a day, man. Everybody came out believing in themselves. Everybody came out ready to play their role, play together, no matter how the game was going. It’s a 40-minute game. I don’t think we relaxed even once, and we knew we could win this game, and now we got. Make sure we lock in the same way against Finland”.
So is this the biggest win in Georgian basketball? “Probably, for sure! I don’t know, maybe like 20, 30, 40 years ago, they had one of the big wins against, I don’t remember, I think it was the Soviet Union that won against Team USA or something, but this era, new era, definitely the biggest win. We are very happy. And you know we never really doubted ourselves. We came out to win this game, and we came out to play together, so shout out to the guys again, and I’m so happy to be here. I’m so happy to represent my country the right way, and hopefully, the sky is the limit”.
And it’s also the biggest on a personal level, as the big man of the Toronto Raptors said: “I would say right now, probably the biggest win. We went to the top 8 of the best European teams, and what better way to represent the country and our family? So shout out to the guys”.
Just a few hours ago, Finland beat Serbia, but Mamukelashvili explained why Georgia’s win over France was an even bigger upset: “Ours for sure, for sure. They (France) were the favorites to win, and we came out so poised. We came out so locked in. I feel like people come out agitated against teams like this, and we were like, just no pressure, you know, we come out there, we play our basketball, we believe in each other for 40 minutes, and we get the dub, and that was a big, big game”.
So what’s the message the “underdogs” are sending? “The trend is that nowadays whoever wants it more, whoever plays harder, that’s who wins the game, and I feel like that’s what happened today. I’m not saying France didn’t want it. I’m just saying, when you are an underdog, you have more of a chip on your shoulder. I said yesterday they might have a tough night shooting, and definitely, they were probably like this. Experience was also a factor; of course, I feel like they were a younger team. They were younger, like Coulibaly, younger guys, you know. I feel like they had so much pressure, too. It’s pressure when you are that young a player and they are telling you going to go and win a medal, and now you’re coming out. Still, they play good, and probably when the whole team gets back, they’re going to be a different team”.