Titebi won the Dudu Dadiani Memorial Tournament

The basketball club Titebi became the winner of the Dudu Dadiani Memorial. The final match was opened with a minute of silence due to the tragedy in Batumi, thus honoring the memory of the victims.

The team coached by Beso Lezhava defeated the current title holder – Kutaisi in the final of the 20th competition of Dudu Dadiani Memorial. The Imereti club won the Dadiani Memorial last year and was still very close to victory, but Titebi played the final match so well that did not leave a chance for Kutaisi – 94:85 (Statistics).

“I did not expect to win this tournament, especially after the first match,” – said the head coach of Titebi, Beso Lezhava after the final match. His team lost the Dadiani Memorial debut match against Vera and was on the verge of being left out of the playoffs, but then Lezhava’s team won three consecutive matches, the third of which was the final. Titebi were constantly progressing, each subsequent meeting was better and more thoughtful. It was thanks to this diligence that this team achieved success and reached the Dudu Dadiani Cup for the first time in the history of its existence.

Titebi did not have the advantage in terms of roster. Kutaisi has both good legionnaires and Georgian players. The weapon of Titebi’s success was the rapid adaptation of the legionnaires to one another. Jordan Robertson, who was named the best player in the final match and the tournament in general, averaged 26.3 points per game. He scored 29 points in the final match and made a big contribution to the victory together with his teammates Legionnaires. With him, one of the main determinants of the fate of the match was Javion Ogunyemi – the center, who gave Titebi a solid advantage under the cover. Isaac Asrat was playing together with Robertson on the perimeter and Kutaisi players didn’t have much left to do.

In the third period of the match, the advantage of Titebi exceeded 15 points, which was a loud statement about the victory. Kutaisi could not change anything in the remaining time. The maximum they were able to do was reduce the gap to 6 points. Following Robertson’s 29 points, Ogunyemi scored 20 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists. Asrat had 18 points. Zaur Janelidze helped the winners with 13 points. Luke Moyer became a top-scorer in Kutaisi with 21 points. Otar Pkhakadze collected 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals, which was the best result in Imereti Club. 

A prize ceremony was held after the match. Jordan Robertson, which was named the best player of the tournament, was awarded by the President of the National Basketball Federation, Paata Guraspauli. The captain of the winning team, Akaki Lomouri, was presented the championship cup by Dudu Dadiani’s nephew, Sandro Dadiani.