Finland beat Georgia to make Eurobasket final four

RIGA :Lauri Markkanen scored 17 points and blocked four shots to lead Finland to a 93-79 win over Georgia on Wednesday that sees the Nordic nation through to the semi-finals of Eurobasket for the first time. 

More known for their exploits in ice hockey, the Finns shocked the basketball world by defeating favourites Serbia in the last 16, and though they led for most of the game, they had to survive a spirited third-quarter fight-back by the Georgians. 

Markanen made a number of key plays throughout the game and got plenty of help from his teammates, with top scorer Mikael Jantunen netting 19 points and hitting three of his seven three-pointers, and the bench chipping in with a whopping 44 points. 

The Finns, whose previous best placing at the tournament was sixth in 1967, will meet either Germany or Slovenia in Friday's semi-final, with old foes Turkey and Greece facing off in the other game in the final four.