EuroBasket 2025: Reigning Champions Spain beaten by Georgia in Group Opener

Reigning champions Spain kicked off their EuroBasket 2025 campaign with a defeat, falling 83-69 to Georgia in a Group C match held on Thursday, August 28, in Limassol, Cyprus.

Currently in a rebuilding phase, the Spanish national team, despite winning the European Championship in 2022, is not considered a title favorite and is not seen as having strong chances of reaching the quarter-finals.

Nevertheless, the Iberians entered their opening match of EuroBasket 2025 aiming for a victory. Their opponent at the Spyros Kyprianou Arena in Limassol, Cyprus, was Georgia.

With the experienced Tornike Shengelia as a leader, Kamar Baldwin as an explosive guard, and Sandro Mamukelashvili as a talented forward, Georgia led for most of the game.

On the other side, Spain's inexperience was evident, and the instructions from Sergio Scariolo, a coach with numerous medals to his name, failed to hit the mark.

On offense, the reigning champions often looked short of ideas, and on defense, they struggled to contain Georgia's key players.

In the final quarter, there was a moment when Spain cut the deficit from 10 to 3 points, fueled by a solid performance from Juancho Hernangomez, but their opponents, led by Goga Bitadze, responded immediately.

Ultimately, Georgia secured an 83-69 victory to start EuroBasket 2025 on the right foot.

The top performers were Sandro Mamukelashvili (19 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists), Goga Bitadze (15 points, 5 rebounds), Toko Shengelia (13 points), Kamar Baldwin (12 points, 4 rebounds), and Duda Sanadze (11 points).

For Spain, the leading players were Juancho Hernangomez (13 points, 8 rebounds), Santi Aldama (12 points), and Dario Brizuela (11 points).

Two more Group C matches are scheduled for Thursday, August 28:

Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Cyprus – 6:15 PM Greece vs. Italy – 9:30 PM

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Next up for Spain is a showdown with Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday, August 30, the same day Georgia will face Italy.