By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Sandro Mamukelashvili with a big three made the score 84-81 in the second overtime with just 21.6 seconds left and after that everything went downhill for Turkey. Georgia got the 88-83 win after the ejection of coach Ergin Ataman in a game that was a real dogfight and also the first win for the hosts of Group A.
To be exact Furkan Korkmaz and Duda Sanadze were disqualified with 4.26 left in the game and Georgia’s coach Ilias Zouros also got a “T” in the first overtime. On top of that, Turkey officially protests the result, since 22 seconds were “lost” from the game clock, during the altercation between Korkmaz and Sanadze and accused Georgian of attacking Korkmaz in the locker room hallway.
Mamukelashvili with 20 points and 12 rebounds was the star of the winners, Thad McFadden added 17 points and big shots in the overtimes, while Georgi Shermandini had 15 points.
Alperen Sengun with 21 points was the top scorer of the game and Sertac Sanli added 15 and nine rebounds.
Turkey started the game with 25-19 first period, but at halftime, Georgia was up by three (36-33) and that was the pattern for the rest of the night.
The score was tied at 66 with 34 seconds left and Turkey having the ball. Alperen Sengun dunked the ball after a pick-n-roll with Shane Larkin, Mamukelashvili answered with two seconds left and the end result was overtime.
Cedi Osman missed at the buzzer of the regulation and McFadden did the same at the buzzer of the first overtime. After this result, there’s a four-way tie in the group standings between Montenegro, Belgium, Turkey, and Spain at 2-1, with Georgia following at 1-2 and Bulgaria last at 3-0.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL