Jonathan Tabu scores a game-winner in OT to overcome Georgia's comeback / News - Basketnews.com

Georgia made an impressive 16-1 run in the fourth quarter while Sandro Mamukelashvili made a monstrous poster dunk but it was not enough as Jonathan Tabu made a game-winning three-pointer with 3 seconds to go in overtime.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Jonathan Tabu nailed a clutch three-pointer with just three seconds to go in overtime to push Belgium past fiery Georgia 79-76 (16-11, 22-21, 20-19, 12-19, 9-6).

Player of the Game EFF 10 Jonathan Tabu Points 14 Accuracy 4-8 Rebounds 5 Assists 2

The game started off with teams battling neck-and-neck in the first quarter (11-11). However, it was Belgium who ended the first 10 minutes on a better note and led 16-11.

Belgium continued its course in the second quarter as well and built itself an 11-point lead (29-18) but Georgia did not crumble and fought back to narrow the deficit to six heading into halftime (38-32).

A similar flow continued in the second half. With Belgium holding a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter (61-51), Georgia started to climb out of the deficit. During the next 5 minutes, the home team went on a ginormous 16-1 run to grab a 5-point lead (67-62).

During the run, Sandro Mamukelashvili made the dunk of the tournament posterizing Ismael Bako.

However, Belgium fought back to regain the lead with just over a minute to go (70-69). Emmanuel Lecomte had a chance to put his team on top but missed both of his free throws, both teams traded missed shots and the game had to be extended to overtime.

Both squads struggled to score during the extra quarter. With the score tied at 74, Ismael Bako followed up a missed shot with an and-one to put Belgium up by two (76-74) with under a minute to go.

Mamukelashvili rebounded the ball after Jonathan Tabu's missed jumper and forced an opponent foul. The Georgian leader stepped near the free throw line and converted both to tie the game. However, it was Tabu's time now.

With 3 seconds to go, the guard made a tough three-pointer to take a three-point lead (79-76). Duda Sanadze had a chance to tie the game but missed a three-pointer and the home crowd had to go home in a bad mood.

Besides hitting the game-winner, Tabu also grabbed 5 rebounds. The guard ended up scoring 14 points in total and shared the top-scorer status on the team with Jean-Marc Mwema.

Sandro Mamukelashvili led the Georgian team with 18 points in almost 40 minutes, while also grabbing 13 along the way.

Having lost Tornike Shengelia in the preparatory phase, the home team lost another player during the match. Goga Bitadze, who had the best plus-minus stat on the team, was forced to leave the court in overtime due to an injury to his foot.

Belgium: Jonathan Tabu 14 (3/6 3PT, 5 REB), Jean-Marc Mwema 14 (4/7 3PT), Ismael Bako 11 (3/7 2PT, 6 REB), Emmanuel Lecomte 10 (5/10 2PT, 5 AST).

Georgia: Sandro Mamukelashvili 18 (5/7 2PT, 2/3 3PT, 13 REB, 29 PIR), Thaddus McFadden 17 (4/10 3PT, 6 AST, 4 TO), Goga Bitadze 14 (5/6 2PT, 9 REB).

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