Georgia’s 28th championship has started. 1 match of the first round was held today at Tbilisi Olympic Palace, where the finalist of the current Superleague – Kutaisi played with the debutant Vera. This match ended with the victory of Vera – 84:76. This match gives us reason to assume that the new season will be quite equal and therefore tense.
Vera is trained by the multiple-time champion Irakli Khoshtaria, who retained the debutant’s discipline set by Serbian specialist Milos Peic last year. Vera played very steadily and led the meeting so that the forces were kept for a crucial moment. After losing the first period by 4 points, Khoshtaria’s team tied the game. Second quarter turned out quite interesting, in which Kutaisians reached 10-points leadership (32:22), However, thanks to the effectiveness of Brandon Slay and accuracy of Vakhtang Qadaria, Vera reduced the difference and even gained a leadership for the big break – 37:36.
After this, an equal fight started. Non of the teams were able to gain an important advantage. Just 3 minuted before the final siren, Vera was 2-points ahead – 73:71. This was the exact moment, that we’ve mentioned earlier – Khoshtaria’s team finished the match without giving their rivals a chance. Qadaria, Givi Baqradze, Brandon Slay and Beqa Chikviladze did their best to help the team and eventually, decided the fate of the match with the score of 84:76. This was their very first victory in the Superleague.
Brandon Slay led the winners with 24 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds. Vakhtang Qadaria scored 21 points. Givi Baqradze had 15. Beqa Chikviladze and Wendell Lewis collected 8-8 points each. The latter was playing in A league in the previous season. Beqa Beqauri was the most effective with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists in Kutaisi. Shawn Roundtree scored 13 points and James Milliken had 12.
Next two matches of the first round of the Superleague will be held tomorrow, on October 14 at Tbilisi Olympic Palace: Cactus – Mgzavrebi, Olimpi – Dinamo.
