The second finalist of Dudu Dadiani memorial is known. Super League debutant MIA Academy-Titebi defeated Kutaisi and will meet Delta in the finals. On the other hand, Delta is the debutant of the last season – Lekso Lapanashvili’s team played in A League 2 years ago. Although most of the teams use this tournament to get used to each other, Dadiani Cup is a quite prestigious title and its owner will become either Delta or MIA Academy-Titebi on October 22.
TSU-Hyundai – Batumi 78:74
This match did not matter in terms of tournament but it was quite valuable for both teams: the first was that they wanted to finish the tournament’s final match successfully, and the second, it was a great opportunity for them to prepare for the Super League season and to evaluate legionaries.
As for the outcome, TSU-Hyundai was satisfied with the result as they won the match in a tense battle with 4 points difference. The team trained by Niko Cherqezishvili won 3 out of 4 matches as well as the finalist – Delta, however, Tsu-Hyundai didn’t get the first place due to failure with Delta.
American Legionary – James Milliken led the winners with 27 points and probably positively decided the issue of staying in the team.
Olimpi – Mgzavrebi 85:84
The result of this match had a huge impact on the revealing of finalist. Mgzavrebi, which was the candidate of becoming finalist, only wanted the victory as they would have a great opportunity to go to the finals, if Titebi won against Kutaisi (as it happened).
That is why Mgzavrebi trained by Buba Berishvili did not give anything to the opponent. Less than five minutes was left before the end of the match, when they were losing 10 points, but they were able to equalize the score in the remaining minutes, and the match was taken into the overtime. However, first overtime didn’t reveal the winner and in additional five minutes Mgzavrebi have almost gained the victory, Adrian Bowie promoted his team with 2 points 1 seconds before the end – 84:82.
Here happened a little miracle. The coach of Olimpi – Dimitri Jakobov took a one-minute break and gave his players the task. Rezo Rogava got the ball and shot it. He scored the last 3-pointer at the last second which led the team to the victory. The captain of Olimpi, who had had 28 points before, collected 31 points after a decisive shooting and honorably became a hero of the match.
MIA Academy-Titebi – Kutaisi 85:75
Super League debutant MIA Academy-Titebi made a small sensation by going to the final. Always the top teams have played in the tournament’s title match and it is the first time that a team, which played in A League last season will fight for the title this year.
The team trained by Davit Ustiashvili effectively used the chance which was given to them by Olimpi’s victory over Mgzavrebi. It is true that they would still have a chance in other case, although it would be very difficult to achieve: they would have to defeat Kutaisi with 16-points difference.
MIA Academy-Titebi met the match with one of the leading teams of recent years quite well prepared. After losing the first period 17:19, Davit Ustiashvili’s team tied the game and gained the leadership. MIA Academy-Titebi returned from the big break with 7-points lead and increased this advantage to 15 points.
Titebi successfully maintained the leadership in the remaining time and reached one of the most important victories in the history of existence. Ilia Londaridze led the winners with 19 points. Joel Almeida scored 18 points.
MIA Academy-Titebi will play against Delta in the Dadiani finals on October 22, 18:00, at Tbilisi Olympic Palace.
Dinamo – Rustavi 104:77
The group stage of the memorial ended with a match that was not motivational in terms of tournament. The current owner of Dudu Dadiani Cup – Dinamo lost the chance of going to the finals after the second round when they lost against Tsu-Hyundai and Delta. As for Rustavians, they have won only 1 match out of 3 and now gave the remaining time to the young players.
Dinamo gained an important advantage since the beginning of the game and managed to win with 27 points difference finally. American Legionary – Jordan Swopshire led the winners with 18 points. Generally, 10 players reached 10 points. Rudolf Jolly was the most effective with 21 points and 11 rebounds in Rustavi. Isaak Banks collected 14 points.
