The never seen before! Georgia misses a self-basket at the last second to look for a miracle
Georgia needed to beat the Philippines by 19 points to reach the semi-finals of the Riga Olympic Qualifiers. With 2.8 seconds left, and with the score at 94-96 that would be final, Chris Newsome He had a second free throw after scoring the first. Before he threw, the Georgian players, as seen in the video, talked and made gestures to each other. The plan was clear: If the rival failed, they had to try to score an own basket to put the tie at 96, force an extra time and there look for the miracle of +19.
The first part of the strategy, the one that was not in his hands, went well, since Newsome missed the free kick, but Goga Bitadze was unable to do his part well. He pretended that he was trying to grab the rebound but the ball was escaping him, He tapped it against his rim and, after bouncing off it twice, it did not go in.. The desperate gestures of his teammates and his coach said it all.
The historic Alocén autobasket
A strategy that Real Madrid used in a European tie against Ignis Varese on January 18, 1962 has gone wrong for Georgia. The whites, short of troops, tried to avoid an extension in which they would probably have lost heavily. With the second leg at home, Coach Pedro Ferrándiz decided that they would score a basket in their own hoop to take a short disadvantage.
After a kick-off, the ball reached him Lorenzo Alocén, who made a historic self-basket after which he pretended that he had gotten confused. The Italians celebrated the short victory (82-80) and the ‘error’ of their rival until someone understood the ruse and joy turned to anger. Madrid won 83-62 in the second leg and passed the tie.
That action made FIBA change the regulations to prohibit and sanction self-baskets. what would have happened if Bitadze had scored in his own hoop against the Philippines? Because His intention and the gestures of his companions were evident.
