Sokhumi hosted Kutaisi and lost 65:81. They had only one victory in the current championship and Kutaisi is on the second place with the lost balls after Dinamo. Accordingly, Kutaisi was considered as a favorite and the team has justified this status.
Sokhumi started badly – 0:7, but then they managed to reduce the difference and after the first half, Kutaisi only had 2-points advance – 35:33. In the third period, the guests gained a convincing advantage again, but Sokhumi fought to the end and kept the chance of winning. In the beginning of the last period, the guests’ leadership dropped to 5 points and the difference between the teams at the last minutes did not exceed 10 points. In the final moment, Kutaisi showed his strength and gave his victory a convincing face – 81:65.
Dejuan Wright led the winners with 15 points and 6 assists, Richard Matiashvili had 12 points and 8 rebounds, Jonathan Lee scored 12 points. Kwan Waller was the most effective in Sokhumi with 26 points, Sergeiy Primark scored 15 points.
Kote Tughushi – Kutaisi head coach:
“It’s good to start a new year with the victory. Despite the fact that Sokhumi was with a weakened membership and this team has some problems, they fought to the end. The main thing is that we have won and there will be the next match very soon. Our goal is to come out of the festive mood and get back to work soon.”
Mikheil Kobeshavidze – Sokhumi head coach:
“On the previous match, I said that we should improve the defense. One player – the central – has left the country and accordingly the team must find a substitute in a short period of time, otherwise we will be in a very bad situation.”
