The head coach of the Georgian national basketball team, Ilias Zouros, has named the roster for the next qualifying matches. We would like to remind you that Tbilisi is the host of the EuroBasket 2022 Qualifiers Group E. National teams of Serbia, Finland and Switzerland will visit the capital of Georgia from February 15 to 22. They will hold the remaining 2 rounds (4 matches) of the group with the Georgian national team with the “bubble” principle, which means organizing matches in isolated space with maximum security.
It should be noted that after the start of the pandemic, FIBA changed the format of the competition for security reasons and conducts each window games for each group in one country, in one hall. Georgia has already participated in the “bubble” held in Finland, in which our team won both matches against Finland and Switzerland. A few days after the end of the Finnish Games, it was decided that Tbilisi would host the next “bubble”, where the remaining four matches of Group E would be held on 19 and 21 February.
Tbilisi “Bubble” starts on February 15. All four teams participating in the group will stay at the Tbilisi Marriott Hotel and live in isolation. Players and team members will be periodically tested in accordance with FIBA and our state regulations and at the same time they will train at the Sports Palace. The games will be held on February 19 and 21 at the Tbilisi Sports Palace without spectators.
Ilias Zuros called up 16 basketball players for the matches against Serbia (February 19) and Finland (February 21).
It consists of 2 naturalized American basketball players – the well-known Tad McFadden and the new American player Conner Frankamp. Due to the fact that the meeting lasts up to 1 week and 2 matches are to be played, according to FIBA regulations, the coach can make changes in the roster at any time and if necessary, call any player from the expanded squad.
Conner Frankamp, who is in Georgia and received the citizenship of our country on February 12, will start meeting with the team on February 15. Frankamp is the leader of the Spanish Premier League Murcia. He is a classic “number one” and is endowed with bombarding qualities as well.
In the current Spanish championship, Frankamp is in the third place in the list of top scorers after Melo Trimble (Fuenlabrada) and Giorgi Shermadini (Tenerife). Conner averages 16.9 points, 3.6 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game. The current season for the Frankamp is the third in Europe. Prior to Spain, he played for Greek Rethymno and Bulgarian Beroe. The big jump from Greece to the Spanish league is the result of the fact that he hit the Greek All-Star last season. He earned it by becoming the Greek league top scorer in 2020 with an average of 20.8 points accumulated.
One of the most prestigious awards of Conner is the gold medal he won as a member of the US national team at the 2012 Under-17 World Cup in Lithuania. Frankamp was the top scorer in the U.S. national team at the 2012 U17 World Cup.
In student basketball, Frankamp has played for a team as famous as Kansas. He spent 1 season at this famous university, after which he moved to also famous Wichita and in 2017, he became the MVP of the Missouri Valley Conference.
Unlike the previous qualifying matches, the national team will be assisted by Duda Sanadze, who recently transferred to the Serbian Borac, and Beka Burjanadze, a member of the Spanish Gran Canaria. Mikheil Berishvili, a player in Qatar’s Al Shamal, is in Tbilisi and will take part in the national team matches, Giorgi Tsintsadze, who is in Saudi Arabia, is not able to come to Georgia and help the national team due to the strict regulations of this country.
Tornike Shengelia, the captain of the Georgian national team, will not be able to help the team. He was injured a few days ago and although he escaped from a serious injury, he will not be able to enter the court in the near future. Shengelia helped our team a lot in the last matches, but this time he is injured.
Georgians playing in the United States – Goga Bitadze, Indiana Pacers Center and Sandro Mamukelashvili, one of the best forwards in the NCAA – will not be able to join the team. As we know, it is a hot season in the NBA and NCAA and at this time it is practically impossible to play in the basketball team playing there.
Giorgi Shermadini will play against Serbia and Finland, whose Tenerife will face Real Madrid in the semifinal of the Spanish Cup today. In case of victory, his team will play the final match on February 14, after which Shermadini will leave for Tbilisi.
Giorgi Tvalabeishvili, 22-year-old center of the club Rustavi was called up to the team for the first time, while Kakha Jintcharadze, the leader of Olimpi, returned to the national team after a 5-year break.
Due to the fact that the qualifying matches are held almost in total isolation in accordance with the strict regulations of FIBA, traditional open practices for media will not be held. The head coach of the national team, Ilias Zouros, will hold an online conference through zoom for journalists from the Tbilisi Marriott Hotel on February 15 to answer questions about the team.
