Georgia – Serbia 63:76 (12:21, 19:17, 21:22, 11:16)
The Serbian men’s national team had a fantastic start to the qualification campaign for the 2025 EuroBasket. After two rounds, the Serbian national team has as many victories. In the second round of qualifications, the “Eagles” defeated Georgia 76-63 in Tbilisi, securing the first spot in Group G alongside their triumph against Finland.
In front of nearly 10,000 spectators, the Serbian team showed a committed game from the beginning. Captain Mitrovic and Marinkovic were the leading scorers, establishing a 21-12 lead after ten minutes of play. In the second quarter, the home team managed to reduce the gap and come closer at 31-38. However, in the second half, Guduric, Avramovic, and Marinkovic secured a double-digit lead that Georgia could no longer threaten.
In tonight’s match, coach Pesic gave a chance to all players who were in the team.
Full statistics:
https://www.fiba.basketball/eurobasket/2025/qualifiers/game/2602/Georgia-Serbia#tab=boxscore
Statements:
Svetislav Pesic:
“A very important victory for us. The players did an excellent job in defense against the playmakers, their most important players Shengelia and Thomasson. If you look at the statistics, we scored 20 points in transition. We were motivated in defense. We always positioned ourselves to help each other; we didn’t play only individual but also team defense, making it easier to organize the game in transition. We also had 20 assists; we were very good in positional attack, where we have the talent to make better decisions. In general, we are all happy because we won the game away, in qualifications. We are also happy with how we played. Regardless of where we play, we must accept the role of favorites and be more motivated and ready to work harder than usual. Especially our candidates for the Olympic Games because we start the Olympic tournament on July 26. The players wanted to show that they are ready. I’m sure that these two victories have made the motivation even greater for everyone to give their maximum in clubs, to train and play well to prepare for the next challenge, which is the Olympic tournament for us.”
Vanja Marinkovic:
“We started very well; we were aggressive on both sides of the court. From there, we built our game. We played good defense on their guards, especially on Thomasson. Shengelia scored 19 points, but if you close one player, you can’t close the others. I think the defense was good; we only had nine turnovers, 20 assists. I think that’s very good. We played good defense, ran fast breaks, had good energy. The fans were good. When Georgia approached three or five points behind, they were very good. But if you ask me personally, I played at Partizan for years. Fans anywhere in the world cannot be compared to Partizan’s. It was good, but I played in very, very good atmospheres.”