Basketball Champions League Asia:
Tabiat to play Japan’s Utsunomiya Brex in last eight
Tabiat will continue its debut campaign at the Basketball Champions League Asia today, when facing Japanese club Utsunomiya Brex in the quarterfinals at Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena.
The Iranian outfit claimed the top spot in Group A with a clean sweep of double victories, courtesy of a hard-fought 78-76 win against Ulaanbaatar Xac Broncos on Monday.
Having beaten China’s Zhejiang Lions (99-85) in their opener, Mehran Shahintab’s men had Stedmon Lemon to thank after the American chipped in 16 points to help the West Asia Super League runner-up overcome a nine-point deficit in the first period.
Lemon knocked down back-to-back threes and then hit a tough fadeaway jumper to trim the gap to a point, 20-19, and scored another layup moments later to end the quarter with the game tied at 22-all.
“I wanted to bring a lot of energy to get the rest of my team going. I think it worked. We had a pretty good second half, probably too many turnovers and missed a lot of open shots, but I think defense prevailed,” said Lemon, who finished with a game-high 23 points, as well as three rebounds and assists apiece.
Croatian center Ivan Buva also played his part in the victory, pushing Tabiat’s lead to its highest at 13 points, 45-32, following a perfect trip to the foul line with four minutes remaining in the second frame.
Buva finished with a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Dee Bost chipped in 13 points, four rebounds and nine assists off the bench in the win. Arman Zangeneh added five points and 13 rebounds.
“If you check the statistics, we were not good in turnovers, some free throws, and in making the three. But the players did their job, especially through good defense,” Shahintab said after the game.
American duo Ian Miller, who left the court with 3:02 remaining in the final quarter for incurring a pair of technical fouls, and Jordan Tolbert topped the scoring with 16 points apiece for the Mongolian club, which also progressed to the last eight, while Canadian Jordy Tshimanga registered 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Elsewhere on Monday, American guard DJ Newbill had 22 points, with Issac Fotu (18), Finn Delany (17), and Makoto Hiejima (17) also finishing in double figures as Utsunomiya defeated Shabab Al Ahli 105-99 to join the Emirati side and Meralco Bolts of the Philippines in securing a last-eight spot.
The winner of the today’s game between the Iranian and Japanese clubs will face Meralco Bolts or Broncos in the semifinals on Thursday.
The other half of the knockout bracket will Shabab Al Ahli and Taoyuan Pauian Pilots of the Chinese Taipei go head-to-head, with winner facing Zhejiang Lions or back-to-back WASL champion Al Riyadi of Lebanon for a place in Friday’s final showpiece.