Dubai Basketball suffer first defeat of the season

Dubai Basketball endured a difficult night in EuroLeague Round 4, losing 77–58 to Crvena Zvezda at Coca-Cola Arena after struggling to produce consistent offence against a well-organised Serbian team.

 The hosts were competitive in the opening quarter, matching their opponents during the early exchanges.

However, Crvena Zvezda began to establish control with accurate shooting and a strong defensive display, limiting Dubai’s chances to build any attacking momentum.

Dubai remained within touching distance for periods of the first half but could not find a way back into the contest after the interval.

The visitors came out for the third quarter with an eight-point unanswered run, giving them a commanding advantage. Crvena Zvezda maintained its pressure from there, steadily increasing the gap to seal a 77–58 win.

Crvena Zvezda finished with 29 successful shots from 66 attempts, giving them a field-goal percentage of 43.9%. Dubai, by comparison, made 20 of their 61 attempts, shooting at 32.8%.

The hosts also struggled from three-point range, converting just five of 22 attempts (22.7%). Crvena Zvezda made eight of 30 from beyond the arc (26.7%).

Dubai performed better at the free-throw line, scoring 13 of their 16 attempts for an 81.2% success rate. However, the visitors dominated the boards, collecting 41 rebounds to Dubai’s 36.

Dubai Basketball head coach Xavi Pascual did not hide his frustration after the game, admitting his side had failed to meet the required standard across several aspects of the performance.

“First of all, congratulations to Crvena Zvezda and their coach on the victory. We played a very bad game in every aspect. It was a disastrous 40 minutes for us, and perhaps we were only in the game during the first 10 minutes. After that, we lost control of everything,” Pascual said.

“We did not show the defensive level we have demonstrated in previous games, and we did not share the ball properly in offence. We were static in our movements, lacked energy and struggled with our shooting, both from beyond the arc and around the basket.”

Dubai Basketball must now regroup following the setback, with improving their offensive execution and returning to their previous defensive standards among the priorities ahead of their next EuroLeague assignments.