Arab News | Dubai Basketball kick off defense of ABA League title with victory in Slovenia

DUBAI: Dubai started their ABA League season with a comprehensive wire-to-wire win over Perpektiva Ilirija (70-85) in Tivoli Sports Hall, Ljubljana, at the weekend.

Head coach Xavi Pascual had changed his starting five, with Thomas Walkup, Davion Mintz, Tornike Shengelia and Mamadi Diakite joining Dwayne Bacon on court for the tip-off.

Pascual took the opportunity to rest regular starters McKinley Wright IV and Mfiondu Kabengele as well as Davis Bertans, while Elie Okobo and Jaron Blossomgame remained on the bench throughout the first half, only entering the contest in the second.

Dubai started strong in the first quarter notable for Dubai’s five of seven three-point shooting. An early 7-0 run propelled Dubai to a 16-8 lead and, after five quick Ilirija points, the visitors extended their lead to 10 with a 9-2 run to end the quarter.

The away side’s offense was not at the same level at the start of the second half, and it took them 3 minutes, 23 seconds to score their first field goal of the quarter.

Dubai then continued the quarter in confident manner at both ends, scoring 17 points unanswered in just under 4 minutes.

Dubai shared the scoring load and took a 20-point lead into the half-time break thanks to 7/14 shooting from three, and seven rebounds in as many minutes from Kenan Kamenjas.

Another lineup change by Pascual saw the visitors  start the second half with a five of Kosta Kondic, Okobo, Nemanja Dangubic, Blossomgame and Diakite. 

Okobo stamped his mark on the game with a sweet step-back three and a lob to Kamenjas that was right on target for the slam. Okobo played all 10 minutes in the third quarter, finishing with eight points and two assists before sitting out the rest of the contest.

Dubai took a 24-point lead into the final period and with the result beyond doubt, the visiting side wisely milked the clock for the remaining 10 minutes.

Ilirija did put up a fight as time wound down, with three three-pointers contributing to their 16-5 run over the last few minutes. But it was to no avail, as Dubai dribbled out the clock and chalked up their first ABA League win of the season in defense of their crown.

In an Ilirija side with a number of young players, veteran forward Edo Muric led the way with 15 points and five rebounds. Davion Mintz top-scored for Dubai with 20 on 7/12 shooting (5/9 from three).

Kamenjas added 11 points and eight rebounds, while Tornike Shengelia scored 11 points to go with four assists.

Dubai Basketball now return to the UAE ahead of their EuroLeague round-four clash against Crvena Zvezda on Thursday, Oct. 8.