By Cesare Milanti/ info@eurohoops.net
Riga, Latvia – The 2025 EuroBasket Round of 16 brought two major surprises, with Finland eliminating Serbia and Georgia knocking out France.
That set up a historic quarterfinal clash, with both teams chasing their first-ever semifinal berth. In the end, only one could prevail — and it was Finland. Lassi Tuovi’s side won 93-79 and advanced to the EuroBasket semifinals for the first time in history.
Finland controlled most of the game, building a double-digit lead early and holding off Georgia’s second-half push. When Aleksandar Džikić’s side cut the deficit to just seven points in the fourth quarter, Elias Valtonen stepped up with back-to-back threes that sealed the win.
Mikael Jantunen led Finland with 19 points, while Lauri Markkanen added 17. Edon Maxhuni scored 15 and Sasu Salin 14. For Georgia, Sandro Mamukelashvili had 22, Duda Sanadze 19, and Toko Shengelia 18.
“Congrats to coach Lassi and the whole Finland team. We tried everything to stop them, but they were so efficient — shooting 55 percent from three, compared to our 32 — and maybe half of those were tough shots. It’s hard to stop a team like that. We fought, but right now we don’t feel good. At the same time, we need to feel proud. We showed our character and that we deserve to be here. Could we have gone further? Yes. Maybe next time,” Shengelia said after the game.
Georgia also achieved a historic milestone by advancing to the quarterfinals, and coach Džikić was asked after the game how demanding it was to coach a team with so many emotions.
“It’s very strange for me, because I’m Serbian, coming from a country that’s supposed to be peaceful and well-known for being patient and nice… I mean, we had a good match. I don’t mind working with Georgians at all — not for a second. I’m super proud of them and what they’ve done, because only we know what kind of problems we had. You don’t know, because we were born and raised not to share our problems. That’s it,” Dzikic said at postgame press conference.