Dubai Basketball kick-off ABA League title defence with a win
The city’s team have won all three of their opening matches of the season
Dubai: Dubai Basketball made a winning start to their ABA League title defence, beating Perpektiva Ilirija 85-70 in Ljubljana after leading from start to finish at Tivoli Sports Hall.
Head coach Xavi Pascual opted to rotate his squad for the opening game, handing starts to Thomas Walkup, Davion Mintz, Tornike Shengelia and Mamadi Diakite alongside Dwayne Bacon. Regular starters McKinley Wright IV, Mfiondu Kabengele and Davis Bertans were rested, while Elie Okobo and Jaron Blossomgame were introduced after half-time.
Dubai quickly established control, hitting five of their first seven attempts from beyond the arc. An early 7-0 burst helped the visitors move 16-8 ahead before Ilirija responded with five consecutive points. Dubai regained their momentum late in the opening period, closing the quarter with a 9-2 run to take a 10-point advantage.
The visitors took a little longer to find their rhythm offensively in the second quarter, failing to score a field goal during the opening three minutes and 23 seconds. Once they found their range, however, Dubai took complete control, putting together a remarkable 17-0 run in less than four minutes.
Their scoring was spread across the team as they built a 20-point cushion by half-time, with Dubai shooting 7-of-14 from three-point range. Kenan Kamenjas also made a significant contribution on the boards, collecting seven rebounds in seven minutes during the second quarter.
Pascual made further changes at the break, sending Kosta Kondic, Okobo, Nemanja Dangubic, Blossomgame and Diakite out for the start of the third quarter.
Okobo immediately made an impact after coming off the bench, connecting on a step-back three before setting up Kamenjas with a perfectly placed lob for a powerful finish. He played the entire third quarter, recording eight points and two assists before being rested for the remainder of the game.
Dubai entered the final quarter with a 24-point lead and were able to manage the game comfortably, taking valuable time off the clock as Ilirija attempted to mount a late comeback.
The hosts did finish strongly, knocking down three three-pointers during a 16-5 run across the final three-and-a-half minutes. However, the deficit was too large to overcome and Dubai comfortably saw out the victory to begin their ABA League campaign with three points.
Edo Muric was Ilirija's leading scorer with 15 points and five rebounds, while Davion Mintz led all Dubai scorers with 20 points, shooting 7-of-12 from the field and 5-of-9 from three-point range.
Kamenjas finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, while Shengelia also scored 11 points and added four assists.
Dubai Basketball will now return to the UAE, where they will prepare for their EuroLeague Round 4 meeting with Crvena Zvezda on Thursday, October 8.
