Finland’s Cinderella run at the 2025 FIBA EuroBasket rolls on as head coach Lassi Tuovi and his squad face world champion Germany next in the semifinals.
By the time the final buzzer sounded, Finland’s players weren’t just celebrating a win—they were celebrating history.
Mikael Jantunen fired 19 points as the Finns showed Georgia the exit door with a strong 93-79 quarterfinal win, reaching the FIBA EuroBasket semifinals for the first time ever.
Sweet-shooting Utah Jazz big man Lauri Markkanen contributed 17 points and six rebounds, while Edon Maxhuni and Sasu Salin combined for 29 points.
With the win, Finland will face Germany, the reigning world champion that eliminated Luka Doncic and Slovenia in another quarterfinal.
“It’s been the same group for a long time, and we’ve just got one new guy who wasn’t there for the last EuroBasket. It’s a very tight group, like coming back and playing with your friends. That’s the kind of basketball culture in Finland,” Jantunen said in the postgame news conference.
Finland led by 20 in the third quarter before Georgia cut it to 73-67 with just under eight minutes left in the fourth on an Alexander Mamukelashvili dunk.
But Jantunen’s turnaround jumper capped a 17-6 Finland run in a four–minute stretch to help restore order at 90-74 lead with 3:04 seconds remaining to play.
Mamukelashvili led Georgia with 22 points. Duda Sanadze scored 19, and Tornike Shengelia added 18.
It was Georgia’s first appearance in the quarterfinals as an independent nation.
The team upset Olympic silver medalist France in the round of 16 and beat defending EuroBasket champion Spain in group play.
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Pao Ambat earned his journalism degree from Cavite State University in 2022.
Passionate about sports from a young age, he primarily covers the NBA for One Sports, while also assisting in reporting on the PVL, PBA, UAAP, and other leagues.