Thank You, Captain!

The captain of Georgia’s national basketball team and the first Georgian basketball player who earned an NBA championship ring as a member of Golden State Warriors of the US, has announced that he has left the national team.

Zaza Pachulia announced his decision after Georgia lost a decisive game with Italy in the last minutes and had to quit the Eurobasket 2017 championship in the wake of Israel-Ukraine game, in which Israel was defeated and Georgia lost the only chance to continue the fight.

“It is very hard to leave what you have carried by arms for many years with the boys. From division B to Europe was not an easy path,” Pachulia wrote.

“We have done what we could and I have hope that future generations will continue to lead the way,” Pachulia said.

“I wished for a different ending very much, but injuries prevented me from doing more. However, I have never spared an attempt to strive for victory,” he added.

Pachulia wrote that Georgian fans deserved more.

“I have always felt your support. I have never forgotten the golden years,” Pachulia said.

This June, Pachulia, 33, became the first Georgian basketball player to win an NBA championship.

Pachulia dedicated his win to his home country following the match, while his achievement was celebrated on social media by Georgian citizens and senior state officials.

Pachulia was awarded the Order of Honour, one of the major state prizes of the country by the President, for his achievements in developing the sport in Georgia and representing the country abroad.

Despite not being successful at Eurobasket, the Georgian team proved it could do more, as it managed to defeat one of the leaders of the contest, Lithuania, and showed a very good game with Italy, being defeated only in the last minutes by only two points.

Pachulia mentioned that his injuries prevented him from performing at his best.

However, under his leadership the Georgian team proved it could play high-class basketball and Georgians can only be very grateful to the team’s captain for his representation of their country abroad.

The latest contest revealed that the team’s main gap was a low possibility to replace the main players during games.