Finland qualifies for its first EuroBasket semi-final!

Finland has just achieved its best result ever in an international men’s basketball competition! For the first time, the « Susijengi » (« the wolf pack ») has qualified for the EuroBasket semi-finals. This Wednesday afternoon in Riga, Lassi Tuovi’s team led throughout their quarter-final against Georgia to win 93-79. They will face the winner of Slovenia – Germany this Friday evening for a historic semi-final.

A decisive first quarter for the Finns

The game was expected to be a clash of styles between the slower approach favored by Aleksandar Dzikic on the Georgian side and the high tempo desired by Tuovi. After a balanced start (12-12), Finland took the lead thanks to a devastating run at the end of the first quarter. Mikael Jantunen’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer brought the score to 28-15, setting the tone for a magical evening.

The gap quickly widened to 20 points, with exceptional three-point shooting, forcing Georgia to dig deep into their energy reserves to get back into the game. A dunk by Sandro Mamukelashvili revived Georgian hopes with seven minutes remaining (-6), but Miro Little responded with a long-range 3-pointer at the end of the possession. The deserved unsportsmanlike foul by the detestable Goga Bitadze – ejected shortly after, having already received a technical foul – and Olivier Nkamhoua’s three-pointer (81-67) definitively sealed the outcome of the game.

Jantunen the hero, less ‘Markkanen dependence’

While Lauri Markkanen still delivered a solid performance (17 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks), he didn’t have to do all the heavy lifting. His lieutenant Mikael Jantunen proved decisive. After shining defensively against Nikola Jokic against Serbia, the Finnish power forward this time showcased his offensive skills. His three 3-pointers early in the game launched the Finnish machine towards his final 19 points and 5 rebounds.

Finland’s outside shooting made the difference: 10 successful shots out of 15 three-point attempts during the first half, 17/31 in total. 17 three-pointers actually equals the record for 3-pointers in a EuroBasket knockout game, matching Yugoslavia in the 2001 Euro quarter-finals against Latvia and Germany also in the Euro 2022 quarter-finals against Greece. Since Lassi Tuovi’s promotion to head coach in 2022, it’s the fourth time Finland has exceeded 50 points in the first period of a EuroBasket game. Supported by 5,000 traveling fans chanting « Suomi! Suomi! », the Finns didn’t waver. Sasu Salin and future BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque point guard Edon Maxhuni contributed 29 combined points off the bench.

This qualification confirms Finland’s steady progression: 16th in 2015, 11th in 2017, 7th in 2022 (after leading for long periods in the quarter-final against the future champion, Spain), and now in the final four. For Georgia’s Tornike Shengelia (18 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds before his late-game ejection), this first quarter-final qualification will remain historic despite the elimination. Kamar Baldwin’s poor performance (2 points on 0/8 shooting, 3 rebounds and 4 assists for -1 in efficiency in 36 minutes), despite being so good against France, will remain one of the reasons for Georgia’s difficult game, as they played in front of their prime minister.

In Riga,