Shengelia between Georgia and Virtus: three games and 5000km in four days

Until FIBA ​​and Euroleague start talking, there will be more and more stories like this, as absurd as the week of Toko Shengeliathe power forward of Virtus Bologna and the Georgian national team, both still in the running, in order, for a place in the Euroleague quarter-finals and for a historic qualification to the World.

Shengelia played and lost the final on Sunday Italian Cup, in Turin, against Brescia. 28 minutes on the field, 12 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Packed, after a day of rest, Toko left for Almere, in the Netherlands, where Georgia then played and won on Thursday a crucial match en route to the World Cup. For Shengelia 30 minutes on the field with 25 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Mission accomplished for the Georgian basketball totem pole, the first player to leave the Cska after the Russian-Ukrainian war broke out just a year ago.

Well, immediately after the game, Shengelia took a private plane – and paid for it himself – in the night and landed in Bologna. Not even the time to settle down and here is the Euroleague and Baskonia. An essential match for the Black Vs, so much so that coach Scariolo, at the same time coach of the Spanish national team, decided to give up the useless trip to Iceland with Roja (already qualified) to stay close to his Virtus. Impossible to give up on soldier Toko: not even 24 hours after Holland-Georgia, here’s Shengelia again to give and take them under the hoop. 88-83 for Virtus, 17 minutes on the field for the Georgian, 12 points and 7 fouls suffered.

And it didn’t end there. On Sunday in Tbilisi there is Georgia-Iceland, basically a play-off for the World Cup. Whoever wins passes. There Georgia has an advantage of 3 points in direct confrontation, practically nothing. It is also impossible for coach Zouros to give up the Shengelia totem. Then: new flight in the morning, arrival in Tbilisi, a night’s rest, departure at 17 and new night flight back to Bologna. Over 5000 km on both sides of Europe, from the polders to the Bologna hills to the Caucasus mountains, and back. Three games in four days. It takes a beastly physique. Shengelia’s.