Another matches of the Superleague quarterfinal series were held in Tbilisi and Kutaisi today. 2 best teams of the regular championship started playoffs. But only one of them gained victory.
Let’s start with Mgzavrebi, who took the second place in the regular championship and playes against Batumi (7th place) now. Buba Berishvili’s Mgzavrebi got Jacob Armstrong back, he was missing due to injury. However, Batumi, which was a candidate of leaving the Superleague during the whole season, showed one of the best games today. Gia Kazanjiani’s team resisted Mgzavrebi and even gained the victory. Batumi won 90:88 and advanced in the series 1:0. Which means, they gained a court advantage as well.
The match was equal and quite emotional. Batumians advanced at first, but Mgzavrebi was reducing the difference all the time. The first period ended with Batumi’s litle advantage – 22:21. And the score was 43:41 in favor of Mgzavrebi for the big break.
The situation didn’t change after the first half. Match was going on equally. Mgzavrebi added one more point to their leadership and the score was 61:58 before the final quarter. Batumi changed a tactic in the last period. The luck was with them. After winning 10:1 in 3 minutes, they advanced 68:66.
After Nodar Tenieshvili’s and Spencer Collins’es 3-pointers, Batumians gained a 7-points leadership 2 minutes before the final siren, which almost meant victory. Shepherd led the winners with 30 points. Spencer Collins scored 16 points. Stefan Andrejevic had 11 points. Adrian Bowie was the most effective in Mgzavrebi. Kakha Jintcharadze scored 21 points. Jacob Armstrong collected 17 points.
These teams will held another match on May 4.
As for today’s second match, the winner of the regular championship – Kutaisi played against Titebi (8th place) in Kutaisi. Kutaisians won the first match of the series in a tense battle – 93:87. Akaki Dvalishvili and Jonathan Lee played a huge role in it. Dvalishvili scored 22 points and 11 rebounds. While Lee had 23 points and 9 rebounds. Joel Almeida was the most effective with 27 points in Titebi. Luke Moyer scored 15 points. Ilia Londaridze collected 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Secon match of these teams will also be held on May 4, 18:30 in Kutaisi.
