Dinamo Tbilisi routs Kutaisi in Game 1 of Finals

Dinamo Tbilisi put out a statement in Game 1 of the Georgian Superleague Final series by smashing Kutaisi 104-55 at home to take a 1-0 lead in the series. The Regular Season winner fired its intent to win a first title since 2003 by putting nearly 50 points on fellow finalists Kutaisi to take early command of the series.

The hosts led throughout the contest, putting in a formidable defensive display and blitzing Kutaisi in attack. Dinamo Tbilisi was formidable in the paint, collecting a staggering 76 in the zone compared to just 22 from the visitors. The champs snatched the ball 21 times and collected 36 rebounds to Kutaisi’s 24 (48-31 overall).

The home team stormed in front as the better team in the first period, racing to a commanding 28-16 lead at the end of 10 minutes. An even better second quarter saw Dinamo once again notch 28 points, but this time the team restricted the away team to just 14 points to hold a 56-30 lead at halftime. The game was already beyond Kutaisi and in the third stanza Dinamo Tbilisi turned the screw by scoring 27 points and restricting the visitors to just seven. The fourth quarter followed the pattern of the game as the home team won the frame to ease to victory and lay down a marker for the series.

Keyon Carter grabbed a quality double-double by securing 24 points and 17 rebounds for the winning team. Stevan Milosevic also logged a double-double by hitting 17 points and collecting 10 boards, while Mikheil Chochua scored 18 points.

A low scoring effort from Kutaisi saw Levani Grdzelidze top score for the club with 12 points.