8th round of A League: Victories of Mega, Orbi and Zestaponi

All three matches of the 8th round of the A League were held today at the Olympic Palace, clarifying a number of key issues. Let’s follow the sequence of matches held. Zestaponi and Sportuni faced each other in the first match. The match ended with an easy victory of Zestaponi – 113:80 (Statistics), after which it turned out that Sportuni coached by Roland Gelovani got 2 points behind the rivals.

In fact, it means finishing the regular season in the last place, i.e. relegation from the league. In the remaining 2 rounds, Sportuni has a theoretical chance to overtake Telavi’s Burji. For this, Telavi must lose both matches, and Sportuni must win both. It should be noted that these teams will face each other in the last match of the last round – April 11.

In the second match, Orbi and Burji met. If this match was won by the Kakhetian team, Orbi would actually be left out of the playoffs. However, Orbi trained by Irakli Tomaradze, played with diligence, players were mobilized throughout the match – 102:92 (Statistics). 

The winners had a distinctive leader: the unstoppable Diago Quinn, who had the highest efficiency index of 44 this season. He collected 33 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Jordan Walker and Armani Flannigan scored 18-18 points each. Thatch Unruh was the most effective in Telavi with 19 points, 14 rebounds and 5 steals. Xavier Newson scored 26 points. 

In the last match of the day and the 8th round, 2 leaders of the championship – Kavkasia and Mega met. Both teams had 6-6 wins and one loss each. At the same time, in the first round, Kavkasia had defeated Mega 87:83. The meeting turned out to be ruthless and quite tense. Mega, coached by Guga Pataraia was leading most of the time, although with a little difference. Kavkasia was periodically equalizing the score and going ahead.

This is how 54 seconds before the end of the match, Kavkasia was 3 points ahead. Markese Mayfield’s was shot was followed by a 72:69 advance of Beka Tsivtsivadze’s team. In the return attack, Mega Sniper, Aston Francis scored a three-pointer and equalized the score. Elliot Cole made an inaccurate breakthrough so Mega had 35 second left to attack. 13 second prior to the final siren, Francis missed a three-pointer, but Mega’s forward Luka Giorgadze rebounded the ball. There were seconds left before the final siren, when Jermaine Marrow got the ball and scored a winning two-pointer – 74:72 (Statistics). 

Marrow led Mega with 26 points. Jalen Bradly scored 12 points. Markese Mayfield was the most effective in Kavkasia with 22 points and 9 rebounds. Elliot Cole collected 12 points. 

If Mega wins both matches in the remaining 2 rounds, they will finish first in the regular season. Let us remind you that the top 4 teams go to the playoffs. In the semifinals, the first place winner will meet the team that finished fourth, and the second will meet the third. The semifinal series is up to 2 wins, while the final is up to three wins. The winning team will get a ticket to the Super League next season. 

The matches of the next round will be held on April 7, and the last round – on April 11.