All four semi-finalists will be revealed in the last round at the Dadiani Memorial

The second round matches were held at the Dudu Dadiani Memorial tournament today, however, none of the teams managed to guarantee a semifinal ticket yet. The 2 winning teams from the first round lost today, and all the other participants who joined the competition from the second round – won. Accordingly, all four participants of the playoffs will be revealed in the last round matches.

Group A – Rustavi vs TSU 85:106 (Statistics) 

Tbilisi State University team opened the new basketball season with a brilliant victory. TSU joined the Dudu Dadiani Memorial today, which started on October 5 at the Olympic Palace, and gained a 21-point victory. The rival of the team coached by Leqso Lapanashvili was the champion of the Super League last season – Rustavi, which lost the first match of the current tournament yesterday to the third member of the group Olimpi – 78:95.

The university team finished with the opponent in the very first half, when they won the first quarter 26:17, and went to the big break with a 26-point advantage. In the third period, TSU’s advantage exceeded 30 points and the remaining time of the match became a formality. TSU’s win had been guaranteed and coaches used the remaining time for working out the combinations and testing the youngsters.

Giorgi Tsintsadze, a veteran player of the national team, had a glorious match, who showed his unparalleled talent for playing, and gained 15 assists together with 15 points and 4 steals. Mikheil Berishvili showed high class and accuracy, accumulating an incredibly good efficiency – 41. Misha scored 28 points, 12 rebounds and 3 steals. He got 6/6 two-pointers, 5/7 three-pointers and 1/2 free-shots.

TSU will hold the second match in Group A of Dudu Dadiani Memorial on October 7, at 18:00, against Olimpi and will reach the semifinals in case of victory.

Group B – Vera vs Tskhum-Apkhazeti 101:107 (Statistics)

The first overtime was recorded in Dudu Dadiani this year. Vera coached by Davit Gasitashvili was close to victory and, consequently, to the semifinal, but the opponent did not give up. Tskhum-Apkhazeti coached by Irakli Dzidziguri and Giorgi Lashqaradze eliminated a 7-point difference in the last 2 minutes, moved the game to overtime and finally won.

Slightly more than 2 minutes was remaining before the end of the match, when Thach Unruh advanced Vera 89:82 with another two pointer. In the remaining time, Tskhumi equalized the score thanks to defenses and quick attacks. Luka Maziashvili scored 4 free-shots in the last minutes of the main time, Zuka Machaladze equalized the score with a two-pointer – 93: 93 and overtime was appointed.

In the overtime Vera was psychologically broken. Tskhumi did not let go the reins of the game survived the last seconds and finally reached the victory easily. Tskhumi was led by Luka Maziashvili the candidate for the national team, who scored 32 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Nika Chechelashvili, another candidate for the national team, scored 22 points, veteran player Zuka Machaladze scored 21 points and 11 rebounds. Thach Unruh was the most effective in Vera with 34 points and 9 rebounds. Vakhtang Qadaria had 19 points and 11 rebounds. 

In the last match of Group B, Tskhum-Apkhazeti will face Titebi, who lost to Vera in the first round.

Group G – Mega vs Kutaisi 81:89 (Statistics)

The current owner of Dudu Dadiani Cup Kutaisi entered the competition today. Imereti club coached by Kote Tughushi competed against Mega and although they won with 8 points, they felt comfortable during the whole match.

Kutaisi strengthened its roster with Giorgi Korsantia, member of the national team. The Imereti team also added Adrian Bowie, an experienced player in the Georgian Championship, winner of the 2018-2019 MVP award in SuperLeague. Mega defeated Cactus in the first match of the Memorial and if it had defeated Kutaisi today, it would have reached the semifinal, but… After a relatively equal first period, Kutaisi won the second ten minutes 31:20 and took the lead for a big break – 53:39.

Thanks to the effectiveness of Djimon Henson, Mega reduced the gap, but not so much to tense the situation on the court. Kutaisi team reached the victory without any complications and they need to defeat Cactus tomorrow to reach the semifinal. Adrian Bowie was a top-scorer with 18 points in Imereti club, Giorgi Korsantia had a double-double – 16 points and 12 rebounds. Akaki Dvalishvili was one of the best in the overall efficiency, who scored 9 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. With 42 points Djimon Henson was the most effective in Mega and in this match generally, he scored 10 three-pointers. Tyrell Corbin had 12 points and 9 assists.