Polish national basketball team is preparing for the win in another 2011 European Championship Qualifying game. Anyhow, if you read over the Polish press, you will be thinking the same way. After the triumphal victory of the Belgian side (93:73), Polish team is in a huge euphoria. This gives them hope to overcome Tbilisi 19 point deficit on Tuesday clash. Note that the head coach of team Polish national team – Belarus Igor Grishchuk was sure about the victory in Georgia, however, we all know the final score of the first match between those two. Georgian side overcame the opponent by a score of 84:65, after which Igor Grishchuk was as mad as he was about to blow his head off in Tbilisi Sport Palace. The next match was another disappointment for the Polish side as they lost in Bulgaria. Last match, in which Poland celebrated 20 point home victory over the unbeaten Belgium side, brought them a big hope of returning on the winning path. Polish press forgot about the previous two defeats and wrote only about how beautiful the win was over Belgium. It seemed like Poland beat some European top class team.
Polish players are cheered up by the Polish press and are promising a nightmare for the Georgian side. The word “revenge” could be found in every player’s speech when they give interviews to the press. Here are some quotes from the Polish camp…
Lukas Kosharek: “We do realize that we cannot lose any more games. The game against Georgia is very important. We had no chance in Tbilisi and now prepare for revenge. However, once again I note that we are not concentrating on one game only. We have to win all the remaining games. I feel good after the surgery. National team medical doctors are paying attention to me. I assume that I will manage to play against Georgia. We know how to play against our opponents. Supposedly, Georgians will try to concentrate in the paint and that is why we should stretch their defensive line. Of course we are expecting a support from our fans.”
Tomas Kelat: “I scored only three points against Belgium; however the boys played great and managed to beat the opponent by a 20 point margin. We should remain existing euphoria until the crucial game against Georgia. We have lost by 19 points in Tbilisi and left arena with disgrace. It is now time to payback. Of course it is hard to reduce a 19 point deficit but, hey, impossible is nothing. Main priority will be to stop Zaza Pachulia who scored 26 points deciding the outcome in the first game so I hope that fans will cheer us up. In case we will not give Zaza much space, half of the work will be done.”
Maciej Lampe: “Finally, we showed a kind of game that is relevant for us. Poland was dominating thought all the 40 minutes of the game against Belgium, which was the main factor of success. Everyone did a great job, so I don’t want to point out somebody. I have missed some easy shots but I am still happy. I think a harvested some profit for my team. We are motivated as high as we should not lose any more games in the qualifying round. The next stop is Georgia, against which we had no chance in the first game. That match proved us that a place in the EuroBasket will not be easy to reserve. However, satisfaction which comes after a hard battle is more grateful than an easy pass. If we will manage to remain existing tempo, I think Georgians will have to fight hard for two points in Lodz.”
As you can see, there is total satisfaction in self belief present in our opponents’ camp. Maybe it’s even better, as we can remember numerous facts when these kind of high-up expectations were nothing but words. Moreover, Poland faces group leaders Georgia and not the outsider.
In addition, the hosts will be without two players for the upcoming match. Adam Lapeta is the one and Krzysztof Szubarga is another. Szubarga played in the starting line-up in Tbilisi and scored 2 points, assisted 6 times and blocked once in 20 minutes, so it could be vital absence for the Polish side. 
The game between Poland and Georgia will be held in a native city of hosts’ leader Marcin Gortat. The game will be hosted in “Atlas Arena” (accommodation 13,400) which was built for the 2009 European Basketball Championship and its value is 80 million Euros.
Tomorrow game’s broadcast in scheduled on Georgian Public Broadcast (GPB).
2011 European Basketball Championship Qualifying Round. A Division
Group A
Italy 71 - 79 Israel
Montenegro 96 - 66 Latvia
Finland 60 - 74 Montenegro
Latvia 69 - 68 Italy
Israel 110 - 88 Latvia
Italy 82 - 73 Finland
Montenegro 71 - 62 Italy
Finland 84 - 83 Israel
Latvia 87 - 67 Finland
Israel 77 - 73 Montenegro
1. Montenegro 3 1 314:265 7
2. Isreal 3 1 349:316 7
3. Latvia 2 2 310:341 6
4. Italy 1 3 283:292 5
5. Finland 1 3 284:326 5
August 17th
Israel – Italy
Latvia – Montenegro
Group B
Hungary 82 - 91 Great Britain
Ukraine 58 - 71 F.Y.R. of Macedonia
Bosnia and Herzegovina 86 - 76 Ukraine
F.Y.R. of Macedonia 78 - 44 Hungary
Great Britain 104 - 96 F.Y.R. of Macedonia
Hungary 74 - 70 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ukraine 80 - 71 Hungary
Bosnia and Herzegovina 80 - 84 Great Britain
Great Britain 90 - 76 Ukraine
F.Y.R. of Macedonia 70 - 56 Bosnia and Herzegovina
1. Great Britain 4 0 369:334 8
2.Macedonia 3 1 315:262 7
3. Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 3 292:304 5
4. Ukraine 1 3 290:318 5
5. Hungary 1 3 271:319 5
17th August
Great Britain – Hungary
Macedonia – Ukraine
Group C
Georgia 84 – 65cPoland
Portugal 59 – 67 Bulgaria
Poland 86 - 64 Portugal
Belgium 74 - 64 Georgia
Portugal 69 - 78Belgium
Bulgaria 74 - 70 Poland
Georgia 73 - 57 Portugal
Belgium 74 - 69 Bulgaria
Bulgaria 79 - 83 Georgia
Poland 93 - 73 Belgium
1. Georgia 3 1 304:275 7
2. Belgium 3 1 299:295 7
3. Poland 2 2 314:295 6
4. Bulgaria 2 2 289:286 6
5. Portugal 0 4 249:304 4
August 17th
Bulgaria – Portugal
Poland – Georgia
Points
1. Deng, L. GBR 99 24.8% - Average
2. McCalebb, B.MKD 49 24.5% - Average
3. Videnov, F. BUL 90 22.5% - Average
4. Pekovic, N. MNE 83 20.8% - Average
5. Bargnani, A. ITA 79 19.8% - Average
…8. Pachulia, Z. GEO 75 18.8% - Average
2 Pointers
1. Gortat, M. POL 26/38 68.4% - Average
2. Videnov, F. BUL 20/30 66.7% - Average
3. Hanga, Á. HUN 23/35 65.7% - Average
4. Lishchuk, S. UKR 21/33 63.6% - Average
5. Belinelli, M. ITA 19/30 63.3% - Average
… 10. Pachulia, Z. GEO 27/46 58.7%
3 Pointers
1. Salin, S. FIN 57 71.4% - Average
2. Gordic, N. BIH 6 9 66.7% - Average
3. Kelati, T. POL12 20 60.0% - Average
4. Pnini, G. ISR 9 15 60.0% - Average
5. Halperin, Y. ISR 9 15 60.0% - Average
...17. Markoishvili, M. GEO 4/17 46.7% - Average
Rebounds
1. Mensah-Bonsu, P. GBR 19 28 47 11.8 - Average
2. Sanikidze, V.GEO 1029 39 9.8 - Average
3. Deng, L. GBR 5 29 34 8.5 - Average
4. Gortat, M. POL 6 27 33 8.3 - Average
5. Lampe, M. POL 10 22 32 8.0 - Average
Assists
1. Green, M. MKD 13 2.6 6.5 - Average
2. Cook, O. MNE 24 2.7 6.0 - Average
3. Koszarek, L. POL 22 3.1 5.5 - Average
4. Strelnieks, J. LAT 20 3.3 5.0 - Average
5. Kojadinovic, F. BIH 20 2.2 5.0 – Average
Steals
1. Green, M. MKD 7 3.5 – Average
2. Calloway, E. BUL 11 2.8 – Average
3. Hanga, Á. HUN 10 2.5 – Average
4. Salin, S. FIN 52.5 – Average
5. Dedovic, N. BIH 5 2.5 – Average
...14 Sanikidze, V. GEO 7 1.8 – Average
Turnovers
1. Bajramovic, K. BIH 17 4.3 - Average
2. Lukashov, D. UKR 16 4.0 - Average
3. Mensah-Bonsu, P. GBR 14 3.5 - Average
4. Möttölä, H. FIN 7 3.5 - Average
5. Hanga, Á. HUN 13 3.3 - Average
6. Tsintsadze, G. GEO 13 3.3 – Average
…8 Pachulia, Z. GEO 13 3.3 – Average
Blocked Shots
1. Gortat, M. POL 71.8 - Average
2. Bargnani, A. ITA 7 1.8 - Average
3. Clark, D. GBR 6 1.5 - Average
4. Lishchuk, S. UKR 6 1.5 - Average
5. Mensah-Bonsu, P. GBR 6 1.5 – Average
…9. Sanikidze, V GEO 4 1.0 – Average
…20. Tskitishvili, N GEO 2 0.5 – Average
Fouls
1. Lishchuk, S. UKR 17 4.3 - Average
2. Pekovic, N. MNE 16 4.0 - Average
3. Berzins, K. LAT 16 4.0 - Average
4. Miranda, M. POR 16 4.0 - Average
5. Georgiev, S. BUL 16 4.0 – Average
…19. Pachulia, Z GEO 10 3.3 – Average
Minutes
1. Deng, L. GBR 156 39.0 - Average
2. Sanikidze, V. GEO 137 34.3 - Average
3. Mensah-Bonsu, P. GBR 134 33.5 - Average
4. Kelati, T. POL 133 33.3 - Average
5. Cook, O. MNE 129 32.3 - Average
Davit Manjavidze
