Iranian Basketball Super League:
Tabiat beats Kaleh in Game 4, sets Finals date with Shahrdari
Tabiat Eslamshahr beat Palayesh Naft Abadan 89-82 in Game 4 the last-four series in Abadan on Saturday to progress to the Iranian Basketball Super League.
Arman Zanganeh delivered an MVP performance with a double-double – 14 points and 11 rebounds – to lead Tabiat to a 3-1 win in the best-of-five series.
Tabiat, runner-up to Kaleh in the regular season table, won Game 1 at 79-73 home and then came out on top by a 80-78 scoreline in the second game, before Naft reduced the deficit by a 80-72 win in Abadan on Thursday.
Tabiat will defend its title against Shahrdari Gorgan, in a repeat of last season’s final showdown.
American point-guard Glenn Cosey also contributed with a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds, to lead Shahrdari to a 95-86 home victory over Kaleh Mazandaran on the preceding night for a 3-1 series win.
Shahrdari fell to an 82-76 loss in Game 1, but bounced back to rout Kaleh 122-68 in its own backyard in Amol, before taking a 2-1 series lead with an 89-83 home victory in Game 3 on Wednesday.
Shahrdari had finished fourth in the regular season with 13 wins in 20 outings.