MIES (Switzerland) - It is now time to meet the six teams in this FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 Latvia with the dream of becoming Olympic champions this summer.

Here is the number 23 team in the FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by Nike, Georgia. The Europeans will be playing in their first OQT and hope to reach the Olympics for the first time.

How they qualified

After playing in five straight FIBA EuroBaskets from 2011 to 2022, Georgia finally broke through on the global stage and qualified for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 to make their debut in FIBA's flagship event.

The Europeans did not waste any time and started off the proceedings in Okinawa City by making history in beating Cape Verde 85-60 for their first World Cup win. Georgia were no match for Slovenia in the second game in Group F in a 21-point defeat. But Georgia booked their ticket to the Second Round by beating Venezuela 70-59.

The next stage was too stiff a challenge for the debutants, starting with a 100-73 loss against eventual champions Germany. Georgia gave up triple-digit points in their second game as well, losing 100-84 to Australia to finish fourth in Group K with a 2-3 mark.

Georgia finished their first World Cup in 16th place to qualify for the OQTs as one of the best 16 remaining teams that did not advance directly to the Summer Olympics.

Record at the Olympics

Goga Bitadze is still early in his career and hopes the 2024 Olympics would be the first of many to come

Appearances: 0
Medals: 0

Recent OQT history*

* Since 2008

Georgia have participated in the qualifying campaigns for the 2019 and 2023 World Cups. This will be the first time the country plays in an Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Last Olympics appearance

Giorgi Shermadini is 35 years old and hopes to play at his first Olympics

Georgia are hoping to reach the Olympics for the first time. Their first official game came in 1995 and they have become a force on the continent - playing in five consecutive FIBA EuroBaskets. After debuting at the World Cup in 2023, the Eastern Europeans are looking to get to Paris for more history.

The OQT Group Phase

Georgia have developed depth and that will help the team's chances in Latvia

Georgia's first-ever OQT game will come against the host team Latvia in a battle of Europeans in Group A. After a day break, Georgia will then take on the Philippines with the hope of moving onto the Semi-Finals.

The two top teams from both groups move onto the Semi-Finals with Group B consisting of Brazil, Cameroon and Montenegro. The two winners of the Semi-Finals square off for a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Georgia OQT games

vs Latvia (July 2)
vs Philippines (July 4)

Players to watch

The heart and soul of the Georgia team is Toko Shengelia. The power forward can hurt opposing defenses in so many ways with his versatility and array of skills, creating a regular mismatch.

But the Wastern Europeans are anything but a one-man show. NBA power forward Sandro Mamukelashvili has now played in two major competitions - the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 and 2023 World Cup - and shined in the former without the injured Shengelia, averaging a double-double of 15.2 points and 11.0 rebounds.

Sandro Mamukelashvili at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023

Adding to that duo the strong pair of centers in Giorgi Shermadini and Goga Bitadze and Georgia are well manned in the post. However, the Basketball Champions League's recently crowned all-time leading scorer Shermadini, could miss the summer competitions after suffering some injuries recently.

Head coach Aleksandar Dzikic selected Joe Thomasson as point guard for the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers while long-time playmaker Thad McFadden is still going strong at 37 and produced a 4.4-to-1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio at last summer's World Cup.

Rati Andronikashvili

Rati Andronikashvili is only 23 and, this summer, will be the point guard's seventh year of playing with the Georgian senior national team already. There is also playmaker Giorgi Ochkhikidze, who will turn 20 this summer and debuted with the senior team for the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers. This will also be the last chance at the Olympics for veterans like 38-year-old George Tsintsadze and 37-year-old Mikhail Berishvili.

Qualified Team Focus series

During coming weeks and months, we will continue to check out all teams ready to step out as part of our Qualified Team Focus series. You can already take a look at Latvia, Brazil and Montenegro here.

FIBA