Džikić could not achieve a new miracle, the Flying Finns flew into history

No semi-finals for Aleksandar Džikić, but the former trophy-winning coach of Buducnost Voli has already done too much with Georgia.

This time, in a match that was known to be historic, his team had to congratulate the phenomenal Finland.

Lauri Markanen and the "Flying Finns" flew to their greatest success in history - with a 93:79 victory, they advanced to the EuroBasket semifinals.

Lassi Tuovi's team achieved what this team failed to do in 1967 and 2022 when it reached the quarterfinals, but lacked the strength to get involved in the medal fight.

Now it has shown that it has finally grown into a great team, after Serbia in the round of 16, the Finns did not miss the opportunity to come one step away from a medal, and two from the European throne, via Georgia...

Finland gained a key advantage for the semifinals in the first half, when they scored 50 points (50:32) with three and a half minutes left in the first half through Sasu Salin, Markanen and Mika Murinen.

The Finns had a plus 20 in that period, but Georgia once again showed character, not wanting to give up without a fight. At the end of the third, the "crusaders" came close to 69:59, and in the last quarter after a point by Aleksandar Mamukelašvili, they were at 73:67.

However, it was at that very moment that the Finns once again confirmed how mentally strong they are - Miro Little hit a three-pointer, and then Goga Bitatze earned an unsportsmanlike foul. And while the former Buducnost basketball player took his anger out on the wall on the way to the locker room, Mikael Jantunen and Oliver Nkamua seemed to have already decided this match with five consecutive points.

Jantunen with 19, Markkanen with 17, Edon Madjuni with 15 and Salin with 14 points led the Finns to victory, while on the other side the most efficient were Mamukelašvili with 22, Duda Sanadze with 19 and Tornike Šengelija with 18 rebounds.

Finland will play in the semi-finals against the winner of tonight's derby (20pm) between Germany and Slovenia, while the other semi-final will feature Turkey and Greece.