| 11 September 2012 EUROBASKET QUALIFIERS  | Guard/forward Manuchar Markoishvili led Georgia to their sixth victory in the Qualification Round with 22 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals
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Jacob Pullen scored 23 points to lead Georgia to a 97-89 victory over the Netherlands in their final EuroBasket Qualification Round Group D game. Manuchar Markoishvili and Viktor Sanikidze had 22 points each, with Sanikidze adding 13 rebounds. Georgia, already assured of their place at EuroBasket 2013, started the game on a 9-0 run and led throughout, though the Dutch fought hard to stay with them. After Georgia's quick start, the Netherlands responded with an 11-4 run of their own to close it to 13-11 on Robin Smeulders' three-point play, and it stayed close until back-to-back threes from Pullen and Levan Patsatsia propelled Georgia into a 31-21 lead to start the second quarter. They were up 54-43 at half-time, and the lead was as much as 16, 70-54, when Nika Metreveli split his free throws late in the third quarter. The Dutch fought back in the fourth, and a three-pointer from Arvin Slagter made it 74-68 before he cut it to 78-73 with another bomb 6:12 from time. But they could get no closer, with Georgia responding to that with a 7-0 spurt sparked by Pullen's three. Tsintsadze added 14 points for Georgia. Smeulders led the Dutch with 22 points, while Slagter added 19 and David Jansen 18. Georgia finish in second place in the group, behind Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the Netherlands take fourth. |