Unlike previous matches in Athens, when the Poles faced one of the candidates in the European Basketball Championship in September, Greece (78:101) as well as strong Turkey (87:86), this time the opponent was the European average, that is, in the hierarchy. If the Poles want to leave the group at the European Championship, they must beat such opponents.
on Friday result The most important, of course, was not for the team to maintain the direction that coach Igor Milicic noticed – to behave better with match for the match. After Turkey’s defeat on Thursday, expectations regarding the level of white and red were clearly raised, and the meeting with Georgia continued with contentment. Given that it was day three of the tournament, and Milicić tried different settings and didn’t force key players, for example. Leader Mateusz Ponetka (less than 12 min), was good.
Although the game of the Poles was initially unequal. After a good start, when Michal Michalak, who had not been seen in previous matches, made two three-pointers, the Poles had a 13:8 lead, but then fell into the hole. Georgia’s leader, who is known for NBA And Euroleague Tornike Szengelia, sometimes he did what he wanted, and his team had a 12-0 breakthrough. The white and red team came close to a draw thanks to the hat-trick of Aaron Sell, who showed in the second game in a row that his experience, calmness and efficiency are still at their highest.
Until the interval was 40:41, the Poles Game They kept mainly three of them – the aforementioned Michalak and Seal, but also Jacob Garbach. Bonnetka, who played very well for Turkey the day before, was ineffective – this time the captain got 1/7 of the game until the break. Michał Sokołowski gave Milicic fewer minutes in the first half, Jakub Schenk’s day was even worse, which can be praised for his previous performance, while the midfielder had four losses against Georgia.
The third quarter was a show for the Poles. Threes fell into a chain – not only Michalak, but also other players, including Aleksander Balcerowski, who also had an impressive block on Giorgi Szermadini. Because apart from a good attack, a strong defense also deserves attention – at one time the Poles had a breakthrough in the ratio of 17:1 and took a dozen points ahead.
In the fourth quarter, the Georgians tried to chase, but the Polish team dominated the score. ukasz Kolenda played well (six points, seven assists, no loss), Sokozovsky and Balcirovsky played all the rounds, but Michalak was still the leading figure. The shooter, who was the best player in the Bundesliga in the 2020/21 season, did not have frequent flashes in the team. Against Greece and Turkey he scored a total of seven points, and he had 1/5 for three points. He scored 22 points with Georgia, scoring six out of 11, as well as four rebounds and two assists.
The Poles as a team dominated Georgia in the fight for rebounds (40:27), incurring only 12 losses, making as many as 14 threes (from 36, a solid 39%). It is noteworthy that they had as many as 29 assists, which is a confirmation of the team’s match.
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With the match against Georgia, the Poles finished a series of friendly matches (2-3 balance), which were to prepare the team for the match for points. First, in qualifying for the EuroBasket 2025 elimination, then in the outstanding EuroBasket 2021, he moved on from last year due to the pandemic with Austria. The next matches are the competition in Group D at the EuroBasket – on September 2, the Poles will play against the group’s host, the Czech Republic, and then against Finland, Israel, the Netherlands and Serbian. The top four teams will advance to the 1/8 finals.
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