Kutaisi wins historic Superliga title

Kutaisi defeated Dinamo Tbilisi in Game 5 of the Georgia Superliga and was crowned the champion of the top flight in the country. The victory allowed the club to avenge its final loss to Dinamo in 2014 and was first league success in the history of the club.

The historic win came thanks to a 76-71 win in front of the Kutaisi fans, and while the final score could have gone either way, the hosts controlled large spells. Indeed, the home team only dropped a single quarter on the way to success. A good first quarter from both teams saw the players trade buckets for the middle minutes before Kutaisi carved a small 22-21 advantage.

In the second frame the hosts carried that small momentum and managed a 20-17 run that made it 42-38 at the midway buzzer for the long break. Coming out of the locker room, Dinamo Tbilisi made it interesting with an 18-23 winning third act that put the scoreboard on 60-61 through thirty minutes. The hosts rallied with a 16-10 production in the fourth quarter to wrap the Superliga title.

Beka Bekauri led the win with 24 points and 15 rebounds, a stunning double-double that earned him the MVP award. Zaur Pashaev followed Bekauri with a solid 18 point contribution.

Maksim Kovacevic paced Dinamo with 20 points, while Aubrey McAlpine added 16 points and 6 rebounds.