DUBAI: Dubai Basketball on Thursday night defeated European giants Bayern Munich 107-91 in Germany to maintain their impressive streak in round seven of the EuroLeague Regular Season.
Their season record stands at 5-2 after winning in their last three games.
Dubai started strong with the superb Mfiondu Kabengele at the heart of their best plays. The Canadian center quickly reached double figures and would go on to play a key role in Dubai’s eventual victory.
Bayern Munich struggled against Dubai’s athleticism and dynamism throughout, and Xavi Pascual’s team finished the first quarter with a 15-point lead.
The second quarter saw Dubai continue to push forward. Elie Okobo contributed on the scoreboard and was also the top assist man, with Jaron Blossomgame also a key factor on both defense and offence. Dubai’s unrelenting dominance secured them a 27-point difference at half time.
In the third quarter, Bayern Munich managed to fight back mainly thanks to the efforts of forward Oscar Da Silva and center Johannes Voigtmann. The Germans briefly closed the gap, but Dubai managed to end the quarter with a 15-point lead.
Dubai guards Okobo and McKinley Wright IV starred as the main playmakers, backed by excellent contributions from Kabengele and Aaron Blossomgame.
The final quarter saw Dubai control the game with the Okobo-Kabengele partnership sealing victory in the final minutes.
Kabengele was voted MVP for Dubai, finishing with 24 points, seven rebounds, and two rebounds in a dominant game.
Dubai coach Xavi Pascual was happy with the performance.
“A solid game in defense and offence,” he said. “Excellent in the first 20 minutes, almost perfect. Then we were a bit softer, Bayern were better than us. In the end, we did a good job of controlling and managing the victory.”
Dubai will now return to action on Saturday in the ABA League against KK Bosna in Sarajevo.