Sindri wrote the greatest chapter in the club's history on Wednesday night, overcoming a 13-point third-quarter deficit to beat Breidablik 85-80 in a decisive Game 5 of the 1. Deild Karla finals at a sold-out Ice Lagoon Arena, securing promotion to the Bonus Deildin for the first time ever.
The 250 fans packed into the Hornafjordur venue saw a rollercoaster that nearly went the wrong way. Breidablik led 44-37 at halftime and stretched the advantage to 13 in the third quarter, appearing poised to crush the home crowd's dreams. But Sindri refused to break. They won the final two quarters to claw back and seize the lead, then held their nerve through a frantic final minute to clinch the five-point victory and trigger celebrations that will echo across this small southeast Icelandic community for years.
Myles McCrary (196-G/F-2000, college: TMU) and Gisli Hallsson (190-F-1999) co-led Sindri with 19 points each Myles McCrary adding 10 rebounds for a double-double. Jason Gigliotti (203-F/C-1999, college: UM-Dearborn) was the unsung hero with 16 points and a monstrous 14 rebounds that kept Sindri alive during the third-quarter storm. Birgir Halldorsson (178-G-2006) (12) and Magnus Svansson (195-F-2006) (11) provided crucial secondary scoring as five players reached double figures.
For Breidablik, Vojtech Novak (205-C-1997) was sensational with 27 points, and Sardaar Calhoun (198-G/F-1999, college: Drake, agency: Diamond Sports) added 19 with 10 rebounds. Solvi Olason (184-G-2004) contributed 16 and eight assists. But their second-half collapse outscored in both the third and fourth quarters after dominating the first 20 minutes left them on the wrong side of history.
Sindri join Hottur, who won the regular-season title and earned automatic promotion, as the two clubs moving up to the Bonus Deildin for 2026-27. For the basketball community on Hornafjordur a remote coastal town of roughly 2,100 people in Iceland's southeast competing against the country's best teams next autumn represents a landmark moment.