France has long been a powerhouse in EuroBasket, so for them to fall down in the Round of 16 in the 2025 iteration of the proceedings is no small thing. It becomes an even greater deal when a nation like Georgia, which has historically been worse than them in basketball, becomes the team to take them down, doing so on Sunday with an 80-70 victory to advance to the quarterfinals of the competition.
While it is important to mention that France was not fielding their best roster, as they were without the likes of Victor Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier, and Nicolas Batum, among others, defeating them is no easy task. Any team that manages to send them home from a competition as big as EuroBasket earn the right to talk some smack, and Wembanyama's former Spurs teammate, Georgia starting big man Sandro Mamukelashvili, certainly relished that opportunity.
“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,” Mamukelashvili said after the game, per Eurohoops.
Mamukelashvili is simply hilarious as he engages in some friendly banter with his former Spurs teammate. On a more serious note, Georgia would have had more difficulties against France had Wembanyama been there, as they may not have been able to shoot over 50 percent from the field if the Spurs star was there to patrol the paint.
Alas, teams can only play the opponents in front of them, and Georgia took care of business against France. The ex-Spurs big man, who is now with the Toronto Raptors, certainly recognizes just how much this win means.
“This era, new era, definitely the biggest win. We are very happy. And you know we never really doubted ourselves,” Mamukelashvili added.
Sandro Mamukelashvili, Georgia look to slay more giants
Now that they're in the quarterfinals, Mamukelashvili and Georgia aren't happy to just simply be there. They are gunning for the Eurobasket crown, although they are going to have to slay some more giants along the way to accomplish that feat.
After their win over France, Georgia will be facing Finland in the quarterfinals. Lauri Markkanen has been on a heater all summer long; can Mamukelashvili, Goga Bitadze, and former NBA forward Tornike Shengelia, as well as naturalized guard Kamar Baldwin, lead their country to even greater heights?
