DUBAI: Dubai Basketball kept up their perfect record in the ABA League after a 108-90 win over SC Derby in Round 4 of Regular Season at Coca-Cola Arena.
Dubai coach Xavi Pascual said of the victory: “We’re happy to have won a game that we clearly didn’t play well for 10 minutes. We attacked well, but everything revolves around turnovers; the fewer we lose, the better we play. Now we can focus on the EuroLeague away game against Bayern.”
Dubai looks to get off to a strong start through the efforts of several players, including Dwyane Bacon, who has been hot off his EuroLeague run last week. Derby struggled at first, then responded with Aleksa Uskokovic, who was very active for the visitors. In the final two minutes of the first quarter, Dubai pushed hard. Elie Okobo inspired, Kosta Kondic, Thomas Walkup and Mamadi Diakite finished. Dubai lead by 10 going into half-time.
Dubai found the basket easily in the second half as well. Dubai dished a lot of assists and showed excellent teamwork: Okobo already with six assists, none in double digits, but 12 players scored points in this first half, with Dubai up 16 points. Bacon led the team with nine points and five rebounds, but Dubai also had a very good first half from role players such as Nemanja Dangubic, Kenan Kamenjaš and Kondic.
Mfiondu Kabengele was Dubai’s extra man at the start of the second half. The Canadian player was ready and made his mark in the paint, even with long-range shots. Derby, however, didn’t give up and came back from 18 points down to two points down with the Antonio Jordano, Marko Pavicevic and Uskokovic trio playing very well, the last one recording a double-double.
In the final quarter, Dubai sprinted again and put together a strong run that put an end to Derby’s comeback hopes. Kabengele continued to make his mark, but not only that. Dubai played as a team, with six players in double figures and a very strong team performance. Derby played a courageous game but left the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai with a defeat, with Uskokovic scoring 22 points and 10 assists.
The MVP of the day was a top-form Filip Petrusev with 13 points, four rebounds and three steals, but he also made crucial plays in the second half to close out the game and put an end to Derby’s comeback hopes.
Dubai Basketball’s next game is on Thursday, in Germany against FC Bayern Munich.