Susijengi slay Georgia to make the medal rounds

This was meant to be a tight battle between two miracle teams. Instead, the Susijengi decided to be a Cinderella with a sledge hammer. Then Georgia remembered who they were and gave Finland a ferocious fight. A stunning Sandro Mamukelashvili led comeback wasn’t enough as Lauri Markkanen and company advanced to the medal round. Emmet Ryan on a nervy one in Riga.

The winner of this game was not a surprise. The manner with which they won it was. Georgia were expected to be a tricky opponent for Finland. Instead the Susijengi came out swinging and it looked like a tactical blunder with Sandro Mamukelashvili had ended Georgia’s chances.

Having been in complete control, Finland looked ready to collapse. Then Miro Little stepped up big and Lauri Markkanen did Lauri Markkanen things while Miikka Muurinen made his presence felt in big moments. Finland advanced and can celebrate making history.

Match-ups matter

Prior to this game, Finland were favourites. Georgia however were widely respected for the intelligence of their approach. They had shown they could hide their flaws quite well. Yet it was the Susijengi who pulled off the smart tactical plays to take control.

Elias Valtonen, the late scoring hero against Serbia, was assigned to guard Sandro Mamukelashvili. With Mamu the most athletic guy in the front court, Valtonen was able to reduce him to brawn early on. Mikael Jantunen took on Toko Shengelia, a clear athletic mismatch in favour of the Finns. This left Lauri Markkanen to alternate between picking up Goga Bitadze, where the former’s athletic edge was obvious, and being a support defender.

Georgia trusted Mamukelashvili with defending Markkanen, which opened up the rest of the floor for the Finns. Jantunen was guarded by Shengelia, who just gave up space, leaving Bitadze trying to chase down a wing. This was sub-optimal.

Miikka Muurinen, aka Slim Jesus, has been a breakout star for Finland at EuroBasket 2025.

Depth becomes obvious

While Lauri Markkanen was always going to do the heavy lifting for Finland, it was when Georgia gave their Toko Shengelia and Goga Bitadze a rest that the real issue became clear. The variety of scoring options available to the Susijengi, with Sasu Salin, Edon Maxhuni, and Olivier Nkamhoua coming off the bench was substantial.

Georgia’s only real go-to option off the bench was Georgi Shermadini bruising his way up the middle. This was a far more predictable approach to the game than was expected from Georgia. By seeking to use Sando Mamukelashvili as a focus player at both ends, they played into the hands of Finland.

This was all before Miikka Muurinen came in to give Finland a real energy spurt. The youngster finished an alley-oop by Markkanen to give the predominantly Finnish something to roar about. Then he nailed a three in the middle of the second quarter and it felt like this game would be a procession to the final buzzer.

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The scary bit

Finland had done all of this without Lauri Markkanen leaving second gear. Finland’s scoring depth was devastating here. Miro Little was impressive as a creator but even he will admit that he had a buffet at his disposal. Mikael Jantunen likely won’t have as efficient a game offensively again but his success was built on Finland’s strategic superiority.

Georgia had looked really intelligent throughout the tournament. Finland, save for the stunning win over Serbia, couldn’t really have claimed to be as consistent in that regard. The faltering performance in the second half of this game followed six stunning quarters.

Sandro Mamukelashvili came up big offensively alongside Duda Sanadze. It rattled the Finns but it wasn’t enough to deny them their destiny. The Susijengi’s depth eventually proved telling. There simply wasn’t enough support amongst the rest of the Georgia roster to sustain that kind of comeback.

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Finnish basketball fans have never known such heights as the ones they have reached at EuroBasket 2025

Embrace the moment Finland

Finland are truly in uncharted territory now. EuroBasket 2025 is their first ever trip to the semi-finals. They go in with more hope than expectation. Lauri Markkanen has delivered on his promise at the international level. He is, after all, a man who says you’ve got to celebrate the wins. The Susijengi fans certainly will heed his call. I would not want to be a bar or hotel room toilet in Riga tonight.

Not that Lauri’s happy stopping now, with apologies to the lavatories of Latvia. The last team to enter the final four of EuroBasket having never previously won a medal? That would be Slovenia in 2017. That ended rather well for them. Finland will once again be underdogs in the medal rounds but they will fear no-one.

They have a man that has carried a nation on his back in Markkanen. A creative guard who has overcome heavy criticism and answered authoritatively in Miro Little, a veteran shooter in Sasu Salin, and a superprospect in Miikka Muurinen. Collectively, they’ve got Sisu.

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