Overview
- Spain surrendered a 22-point lead and lost 91-89 in overtime to Georgia in Tbilisi on Sunday, turning a near-perfect first qualifying phase into a 5-1 finish.
- Tornike Shengelia scored 37 points and Marcquise Reed added 32 as the pair powered Georgia’s comeback and combined to dominate late in the game.
- The defeat is the first for Spain since Chus Mateo took charge as head coach and exposed late-game rebounding and outside-shooting struggles for La Familia.
- Spain still advances to the next qualifying round but loses the clearer win-margin cushion a 6-0 finish would have provided and will be paired with qualifiers from Group B (Greece, Montenegro, Portugal, Romania).
- The result echoes Georgia’s upset of Spain at EuroBasket 2025 and leaves attention on Spain’s rotations, interior matchups with players like Willy Hernangómez and Izan Almansa, and how the team will close games in the next window.