Tornike Shengelia scored 37 points with 10 rebounds as Georgia erased a 22-point deficit to beat Spain 91-89 in overtime of a FIBA World Cup 2027 qualifier in Tbilisi on Sunday. The win handed Spain its first loss of the qualifying campaign and ended the chance to carry an unbeaten record into the second round. Shengelia shot 13-of-24 from the floor and 6-of-11 from three in 44 minutes and 31 seconds of the 45-minute game.
Guard Marcquise Reed added 32 points and seven assists in support. The Shengelia-Reed tandem accounted for 69 of Georgia’s 91 points. Both teams move to second-round Group I alongside Ukraine, where a fresh six-game window opens in late August per Eurohoops.
A 69-Point Pair Carries Georgia
Reed has emerged as the second scorer Dzikic’s offense needed in this window. The duo combined for 69 points in Tbilisi. Shengelia added 4 steals, 2 assists, and 10 boards to his line, giving him a 37-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Reed finished with 32 points on 12-of-21 shooting and 3-of-5 from deep, plus 7 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. His qualifying pace stands at 97 points across 108 minutes over four games, a mark the FIBA recap flagged as the scoring pace to beat in the window. Shengelia’s workload was heavy: 44 minutes and 31 seconds on a 45-minute clock in a game decided in overtime. He had finished his club season with Barcelona on June 24 and was set to turn 35 soon after, per the recap.
Their shooting volume carried the fourth quarter. The Shengelia-Reed pair went a combined 25-of-45 from the floor, with the rest of the roster chipping in to keep Spain at bay. Spain’s bench produced brief leads through 20-year-old Mario Saint-Supery (13 points in 19 minutes) and 24-year-old Alvaro Cardenas (14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks), a backcourt the FIBA writeup called Spain’s pair to watch. Reed’s jumper with 19 seconds left in overtime was the final swing. Spain mishandled its last possession as time expired.
- Shengelia: 37 PTS, 10 REB, 4 STL, 2 AST (13/24 FG, 6/11 3PT, 5/6 FT), 44:31 minutes
- Reed: 32 PTS, 7 AST, 3 REB, 2 STL (12/21 FG, 3/5 3PT)
- Hernangomez (Spain): 19 PTS, 8 REB (Spain’s top scorer)
- Final: Georgia 91, Spain 89 (OT) at Tbilisi
From 22 Down to Overtime
Spain led by as many as 22 points through three quarters and looked headed for a clean sixth win. Georgia’s defense narrowed the gap in the fourth, with Reed and Shengelia trading the late buckets that mattered most. With Georgia still trailing, Reed knocked down a three-pointer to knot the game at 81-81. Moments later, Shengelia followed with a basket that put Georgia ahead 83-81 for its first lead of the night.
Spain answered through Jaime Pradilla, whose reverse layup tied it with regulation winding down. The score held through the final seconds and pushed the game to overtime. Spain then grabbed an early five-point edge in the extra period before Georgia rallied.
Reed took control again, hitting a jumper with 19 seconds left to restore Georgia’s two-point edge at 91-89. Spain’s final possession broke down as time expired, sealing the loss. The FIBA recap and Eurohoops framed Sunday as Spain dropping its first game of the Qualifiers, going from a 5-0 path to 5-1. The win closed Group A for both sides. The Tbilisi result closed a window where Georgia erased a hole that reached 22 in three quarters.
Spain still advances to the second round, as does Georgia, alongside Ukraine, which finished at 4-2. The Group I structure brings the three teams into a fresh six-game window scheduled to open in late August per Eurohoops. Three of the Group I finishers earn spots in the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup final stage next summer in Qatar. The path through Group I is narrower than the round that closed in Tbilisi.
The comeback trail reset Georgia’s standing inside Group I. Earlier wins this window had nearly slipped away before the Shengelia-Reed duo flipped the latest hole into a result. Spain’s role in this cycle now shifts from unbeaten favorite to contender with a chip.
- Reed’s three-pointer tied it at 81-81 with under a minute left.
- Shengelia’s bucket gave Georgia its first lead at 83-81.
- Jaime Pradilla’s reverse layup sent the game to overtime.
- Spain jumped out to a five-point edge in OT before Georgia rallied.
- Reed’s jumper with 19 seconds left made it 91-89.
What Spain’s First Loss Costs
Sunday was a first for Spain in this qualifying cycle. Before tip, Chus Mateo had won five straight games and was chasing an unbeaten carryover into the second round. Shengelia and Reed ran the overtime session that flipped Spain’s 5-0 record to 5-1. Spain still wins the Group A title, but the path into Group I starts with a first loss instead of momentum.
The cost shows up in standings math. Three Group A sides, Spain, Georgia, and Ukraine, move into second-round Group I carrying 5-1, 3-3, and 4-2 marks respectively. The FIBA recap noted Spain’s chance to reach the Second Round with a perfect 6-0 record had ended. The second round strips to six games, so the carryover record carries weight. Spain’s loss tightens Georgia’s path in the seeding math.
Hernangomez’s 19-point, 8-rebound line did not get enough help from Spain’s veteran core. Hugo González finished with 9 points on 3-of-8 shooting per Eurohoops, a quiet day for a player expected to be a long-term piece. Saint-Supery and Cardenas gave Spain a 27-point bench jolt, but it came on a night when Spain’s half-court defense could not slow Shengelia. The official Georgia-Spain box score and the FIBA writeup both close on the same point: Spain’s first loss came on the road.
A Pattern Set in EuroBasket 2025
FIBA framed Sunday’s result as a repeat of an earlier upset. Back at FIBA EuroBasket 2025, Shengelia and the rest of Dzikic’s men handed Spain a loss in the group phase, ending the defending champions’ run before the knockout rounds. Sunday’s win continues a recent pattern: Shengelia-led Georgia has now beaten Spain twice in two senior FIBA competitions, a thread that runs through Shengelia’s senior national team profile.
Georgia has stacked other upsets in the same window. The team beat France in the EuroBasket 2025 round of 16, a result tied to the same Shengelia-led core. Georgia also erased a halftime hole against Denmark in an earlier qualifying round, the kind of Georgia-Denmark qualifier recap that reads like a draft of what unfolded in Tbilisi on Sunday. Each comeback has carried the Shengelia stamp since Reed became a naturalized guard. The Spain wins are the loudest results of the run.
Shengelia’s senior-team line against Spain is the second 37-point effort of his national-team career. He went 13-of-24 with 6-of-11 from three against a Spain defense that tried multiple coverages. The 37 ties Jordan Loyd’s mark for most in this Qualifiers campaign, per Sunday’s 37-point game and the scoring table. Only Dennis Schroder (38) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (40) have scored more in a single FIBA Basketball World Cup European Qualifiers game.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Greece vs Serbia, 2022: 40 points
- Dennis Schroder, Germany vs Poland, 2022: 38 points
- Jordan Loyd, Poland vs Latvia, 2026: 37 points
- Tornike Shengelia, Georgia vs Spain, 2026: 37 points
- Michael Dixon, Georgia vs Serbia, 2017: 35 points
Where Group I Goes From Here
Second-round Group I forms the next hurdle. Spain, Georgia, and Ukraine start a fresh six-game window opening in late August per Eurohoops.
The carried records seed the field. Spain at 5-1, Ukraine at 4-2, and Georgia at 3-3 form a tighter pool than the round that closed in Tbilisi. Group I’s structure pairs them with three opponents the three sides have not yet met in this cycle. Six games split home and away send the top three to next summer’s 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Qatar. Spain opens as the strongest seed despite the loss.
Reed’s qualifying tear is the storyline Georgia carries forward. His 97 points across four games rank among the highest individual totals in the Qualifiers, per the FIBA recap. Shengelia and Reed each played more than 35 minutes against Spain, the kind of workload Dzikic can lean on in August. Earlier results like the Shengelia and Bitadze Georgia-Cyprus win show what the same core can do on a single hot night. The carryover records mean a fast Group I start carries weight.
For Spain, the loss is a reset more than a crisis. The FIBA recap named Cardenas and Saint-Supery as Spain’s next one-two punch at the backcourt, two players the writeup said will be counted on for years. The coverages Mateo tried on Shengelia did not slow him. The Tbilisi trip resets Spain’s approach without removing them from the field.
Sunday closed the Group A window for both clubs and pushed each into the next round with different seeding. Shengelia’s next national-team minutes follow a club season that ended on June 24 at Barcelona, with his 35th birthday arriving in the same window per the FIBA recap. Group I’s August openers carry the seeding weight built in Tbilisi.
