Energy Invest Rustavi

BC Rustavi
Founded	1991
History	BC Azoti (1991-95, 1997-2005) BC Kimikosi (1995-97)
Arena	Azot Arena (capacity: 750)
Location	Rustavi, Georgia
Team colors	Black and white
President	Amiran Khachidze
Head coach	Mikheil Beruashvili
Championships	4
Website	http://basketball.energyinvest.ge/
Uniforms
Home Away

BC Rustavi (Georgian: საკალათბურთო კლუბი რუსთავი) is a professional basketball club based in the city of Rustavi, Georgia. The club competes in the Georgian Superliga, and plays its home games in the Rustavi sports arena.

History

The club was founded in 1991 as BC Azoti, and began competing in the newly established Georgian national league. It is one of only 2 clubs (the other being Dinamo Tbilisi) to have participated in the league continuously throughout its existence. Rustavi challenged for high positions in the league on a consistent basis, and recorded numerous top 3 finishes, always falling short of winning trophies.

The club's fortunes changed in 2006, when it acquired major sponsorship from the investment company 'Energy Invest'. They were now able to attract some of the best Georgian players to the club, as well as foreign imports. As a result, Rustavi convincingly won 4 league championships in a row, between 2007 and 2010. In addition, they won the Georgian cup in 2009, and numerous smaller national competitions. At the end of the 2009/10 season, 'Energy Invest' announced that the level of funding for the club would diminish, forcing them to compete with a young team and modest ambitions for 2 years. In 2012, the funding increased once more, and the squad was considerably strengthened.

Rustavi took part in various international competitions on several occasions, such as the Korać Cup in 1997, 98 and 99; the Eurocup in 2007; and the EuroChallenge in 2008, but failed to advance beyond the qualifying rounds on each occasion.

Honours

• Georgian Superliga
  • Winner (4): 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
  • Runner-up (4): 1998, 1999, 2000, 2006
• Georgian Cup
  • Winner (1): 2009
• Dadiani Memorial Trophy
  • Winner (5): 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
• Korkia/Sakandelidze Memorial Trophy
  • Winner (4): 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010

Current Roster

Energy Invest Rustavi roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age 7000400000000000000♠4 USA ! Bowie, Nate 7000182000000000000♠1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) 7001950000000000000♠95 kg (209 lb) 7000700000000000000♠7 GEO ! Tsekvava, Levan 7000190000000000000♠1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 7001870000000000000♠87 kg (192 lb) 7000900000000000000♠9 GEO ! Abaishvili, Malkhaz 7000183000000000000♠1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 7001730000000000000♠73 kg (161 lb) 7001100000000000000♠10 GEO ! Chachanidze, Revaz 7000183000000000000♠1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 7001750000000000000♠75 kg (165 lb) 7001110000000000000♠11 GEO ! Gugava, Davit 7000202999999999999♠2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 7001880000000000000♠88 kg (194 lb) 7001120000000000000♠12 USA ! Nelson, Kyle 7000202999999999999♠2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 7002104000000000000♠104 kg (229 lb) 7001130000000000000♠13 GEO ! Chochua, Mikheil 7000193000000000000♠1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 7001900000000000000♠90 kg (198 lb) 7001140000000000000♠14 CMR ! Toudjani Talba, Jolivet 7000199000000000000♠1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) 7001950000000000000♠95 kg (209 lb) 7001150000000000000♠15 GEO ! Atanelishvili, Revaz 7000208000000000000♠2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 7002105000000000000♠105 kg (231 lb) 7001220000000000000♠22 GEO ! Machavariani, Zurab 7000190000000000000♠1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 7001800000000000000♠80 kg (176 lb) 7001230000000000000♠23 GEO ! Arabuli, Gaga 7000198000000000000♠1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 7001880000000000000♠88 kg (194 lb) 7001240000000000000♠24 GEO ! Khmelidze, Levan 7000195000000000000♠1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 7001830000000000000♠83 kg (183 lb)	Head coach Mikheil Beruashvili Assistant coach(es) Badri Kikvidze Legend (C) Team captain Injured

External links

• Official Website (Georgian) (English)
• Eurobasket.com Team Profile (English)