Georgia stuns defending champion Spain 83-69 at EuroBasket, France cruises
LIMASSOL, Cyprus (AP) — Toronto Raptors forward Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 19 points to lead Georgia to a 83-69 upset victory over defending champion Spain at EuroBasket Thursday.
Mamukelashvili added seven rebounds and six assists as Georgia outrebounded Spain 46-29. Spain shot poorly in a disjointed performance — only making 6 of 13 free throws — but still only trailed 61-58 in the fourth quarter when Georgia went on an 11-2 run to take a decisive lead.
American-born guard Kamar Baldwin had 12 points for Georgia, including a 3-pointer in the final seconds.
Juancho Hernangomez led Spain with 13 points in the Group C game at Spyros Kyprianou Arena.
“They deserved to win. They played way better. They played more physically than us,” Hernangomez said. “We played really, really bad … so let’s get better for the next game.”
France, playing without Victor Wembanyama at the tournament, eased past Belgium 92-64 with the rest of its NBA talent on display in a dominant performance in Katowice, Poland.
Washington Wizards shooting guard Bilal Coulibaly had 12 points and seven rebounds. NBA teammate Alex Sarr provided one of the game highlights late in the first quarter, dunking off a running, behind-the-back pass from Sylvain Francisco.
“We needed to make a strong debut as a team and I think that’s what we did,” France shooting guard Isaia Cordinier said. “Everybody brings something to the team. … The danger comes from everywhere.”
Israel beat Iceland 83-71 in Katowice, leading throughout following a 10-0 run in the first quarter. Roman Sorkin scored 31 points for Israel in their Group D opener.
Co-host Cyprus was trounced 91-64 by Bosnia and Herzegovina. ___
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