TEL AVIV, September 1, 2017 - A thrillingopening day of action at FIBA EuroBasket 2017 was highlighted by co-hostsFinland shocking France in overtime and Georgia stunning 2015 silvermedalists Lithuania in a day full of great performances.
Lauri Markkanen tallied 22 points with 7rebounds for Finland while Jamar Wilson came up 12 points in an 86-84 victoryover France in Group A in Helsinki. The game was tight throughout and Wilsonsent the game to overtime with his basket with 15 seconds left in regulation.Wilson then won it in the extra session with a layup with 5 secondsremaining. Evan Fournier and Nando De Colo combined for 46 points but theywere not enough for the French.
"We have 20 minutes to be happy aboutthis and then we have to focus on Slovenia, which is another tough team. He(Markkanen) was great, he's a big talent and obviously he's a very specialperson. He showed that today," Wilson said. "My role is to provideenergy. I have to come in to provide a spark. The first half was not good butwe made energy plays in the second half that gave us a chance to win thegame."
Georgia's answer to Markkanenand Wilson was Tornike Shengelia and Michael Dixon in a 79-77 win overLithuania that had the feeling of Knockout Phase game. Shengelia poured in 29points while Michael Dixon had 12 points and seven rebounds. Shengelia helpedbring Georgia back from 12 points back and Dixon had two baskets and a freethrow in the final two minutes to seal the deal. Mindaugas Kuzminskaspicked up 18 points and seven rebounds for Lithuania, who beat Georgia in theRound of 16 at FIBA EuroBasket 2015.
"It is always special to play againstLithuania and then to beat them too. Everyone knows they are one of the bestteams in Europe," Shengelia said. "It was very important because twoyears ago we lost a very special game against them. Thank god we got thevictory. We always believed even though we were down for a lot of the game."
While Group A hosts Finland won, Italy rainedon Israel's parade with a 69-48 victory against the home side of Group B in TelAviv. Marco Belinelli and Luigi Datome combined to hit 10 three-pointers inscoring 34 points in the win.
The top scorer of theday also comes from Group B as Dennis Schroder poured in 32 points to gowith 7 assists in a 75-63 win over Ukraine. Robin Benzing added 17 points forGermany.
GroupA also had a huge individual showing as the retiring Goran Dragic dropped 30points in Slovenia's 90-81 win over Poland. Slovenian wunderkind Luka Doncicadded 11 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists in his international debut.
Also inGroup A, Nikos Pappas tallied 20 points and Georgios Printezis chipped in 17points in Greece's 90-61 win, as Iceland faded in the second half.
Groups Aand B have a day off on Friday before playing their second games on Saturday.Groups C and D take center stage on Friday.
