Just 14,000 votes. That was the refrain in Georgia as it learned that the hashtag craze to push native son Zaza Pachulia into the upcoming NBA All-Stars Game had fallen short.

Spurred on by Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili and various celebrities, the campaign had unified the big Georgian’s small homeland in the Caucasus like no other event in recent years. For weeks past, logging onto Facebook or Twitter in Georgia meant getting bombarded by the text #NBAVOTE Zaza Pachulia; including from users who before had taken no interest in basketball.

To the disbelief of some American basketball observers, Pachulia, a 31-year-old center for the Dallas Mavericks, ultimately finished fourth in the fan poll — “the biggest thing ever,” one Georgian fan gushed on an online basketball forum. With a total count of 768,112 votes, the Tbilisi-born player ranked 14,000 votes behind All-Stars starter Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs, and ahead of some of the best US basketball players.

In a January 22 Facebook post, Pachulia profusely thanked his Georgian supporters. “These will be the most memorable days of my life,” he said in Georgian. “Your love and support means more to me than getting in the All-Stars Game.”

Some still cling to a hope that the 31-year-old Pachulia, an accomplished player, will be put on the reserves for the February 14 All-Stars game in Toronto. “[I]f Kobe [Bryant] got injured and won’t be able to play, won’t Zaza be put in in his place?” another Georgian fan hopefully asked.

National Basketball Association coaches will announce their decisions for the reserves on January 28.

So far, though, no sign that Georgians will revamp their online campaign to try and keep a media-buzz going about Pachulia for that pick.

They had left no stone unturned in their search for connections to boost Pachulia’s ratings for the All-Stars. Wyclef Jean crooned his support as a favor to Bera, the rapster son of the richest and arguably most influential man in the country, billionaire ex-Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Conceivably, the same connection probably helped get 15-year-old online video-celebrity Hayes Grier to put in a good tweet for Pachulia. Grier’s older brother Nash, also a Vine star, was in Georgia last year to attend a talent show on Bera’s television channel. In fact, one US site speculated, had Grier gotten Pachulia’s hashtag right, he might have secured a spot in the All-Stars.

Nonetheless, some Georgian users were annoyed by being Pachulia'd all the time. “I wish this could be over so we can get on with our lives, but still #NBAVOTE Zaza Pachulia,” read one Facebook status upgrade. The non-stop campaign inspired all sorts of online memes, to boot.

But many Georgians are still content with being able to help their guy stand tall. Some joked that now they can finally get some sleep.