This man crushed Susijeng

This story has a starting point.

It’s Espoo.

At the end of November last year, Susijengi played his European Championship qualifying match at the local metro arena.

Away team superstar Toko shengel had been flown to Tapiola by a private plane from Italy because his club team Virtus Bologna had wanted to hold on to his big winger as long as possible.

However, Shengelia’s will was so strong that she was forced to organize a special transportation. He definitely wanted to play against Finland.

Georgia won Susijeng 90-83, and shengel was the most powerful with 24 points in the parquet.

– I have been able to go to shengelia, and I know how committed he is. He flew to Espoo at night because he wanted to win us, Susijeng’s head coach Lassi Tuovi start.

Lappeenranta had left his duties in Virtus Bologna just a few months before that European qualifying match.

A couple of days later, the teams met in Tbilisi.

The result was crushing. Georgia won Finland as many as 81-64. Again Shengel (25 points) was the field of the field.

– These are great stories. Georgia has shown for years that it belongs to the top of Europe, Tuovi continues.

– Now it first gets to the top eight. Certainly it is hungry and thirst for more.

“Fine races”

Georgia might not have survived the entire finals if it had not won Finland.

Wednesday teams will meet again. The stake is a place in the European Championships and the opportunity to fight for the medal of the value races.

The matter was confirmed on Sunday when the underdog Georgia knocked out French 80-70.

– Great races. We are about to start the last week of the race, and France will leave here and Spanish or Serbia is not visible. It tells about the magnificence of the basket.

Susijeng’s last fall qualifying start is explained by the fact that Finland had a sure place in the finals host.

– They were bitter experiences. Now we can take a revolution. But it is not easy to see what self -confidence Georgia plays and how the other group is to make the stars shine.

Debutant in Espoo

Something else happened in Espoo in November 2024.

Namely, the 27-year-old in the Georgian national team Kamar Baldwinwhich was born of Georgia, of course – from the state of the US on the other side of the Atlantic.

Baldwin had received a passport in Georgia (state in the Caucasus) just a few weeks before meeting Susijeng.

“Georgia is not a typical big, slow team because they have two so hard superstars that can win one night,” Tuovi recalls.

– Baldwin plays in the ball all the time. If it doesn’t have it, it’s shengelia. Strong individual fire power makes the team challenging.

“Slower”

It is not advisable to draw far-reaching conclusions about Susijeng’s losses, even because the Euro qualifiers were played without American help.

So it meant to Finland Lauri Markkanen, Miro Littlen and Miikka Muurinen staying on the beach.

In Latvia they are all involved.

Finland will go to Wednesday’s quarterfinals as a preliminary favorite.

– I still see that we are taking Georgia as a challenge. Just because they are playing right now. Two completely different teams are facing each other. It’s strong, which basketball will be played, Tuovi continues.

– Georgia is big, it leans on power basketball and walks up the ball with five players all over the second half. We need to make our own game go so we can do it.

Tuovi tries to speak his best to talk to the shoulders.

He did not do it very well.

– Georgia is now bigger and a little slower, but the same things that fell us in winter are still there, he refers to Shengelia and Baldwin.

– We’re going to go humble in this match. We have to do our activities quite a bit – as it should be in the race.