Kabengele and Avramovic led Dubai over Zalgiris with PIRs of 26 and 27, respectively
Dubai’s returnees proved pivotal to complete perfect week
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 11 of 38
Regular Season
Dubai BasketballDUB
9589
Zalgiris KaunasZAL
Overview
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Dubai Basketball faced a tough and challenging double-game week. Although both matches were at home, they hosted two of the most dangerous teams in the competition: Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade and Zalgiris Kaunas. Both visitors were occupying the top spots in the standings, which made this week an extremely difficult mission for the host.
Dubai started the week with a remarkable 102-86 win against Crvena Zvezda, also celebrating the return of guard Aleksa Avramovic, who scored 17 points in 21 minutes after not being able to play a single game until Round 10.
Against Zalgiris, Dubai was able to celebrate twice again, as it claimed a convincing 95-89 victory with Mfiondu Kabengele returning to the lineup after missing the previous two games due to an injury.
And, just as happened with Avramovic earlier in the week, Kabengele stood out on his return with a terrific performance.
“I'm so confident in this team, we had very good chemistry,” Avramovic enthused after the game. “We missed a lot of players that are injured, others are coming from injuries like me, Mfiondu and [Davis] Bertans. But we have a lot of people, we fortunately have a very deep roster, and we can handle it.”
Kabengele finished with a fantastic double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds, totaling a PIR of 26. Avramovic, in his second game, once again scored with ease (16 points) and handed out 6 assists for a total PIR of 27. Both were crucial for Dubai to come back in a game that had become a nightmare in the first quarter, during which they trailed by as many as 13 points, 8-21.
“The first quarter was a disaster, it was terrible,” Dubai head coach Jurica Golemac admitted. “We allowed 34 points, and we played very soft. In the next three quarters, we stepped up. We didn't turn the ball over. We had it very clear where we wanted to attack them, and we were executing good.
“Congratulations to the guys, because they showed big character. When we were down, we didn't give up. And today, the fans were amazing. They were involved in the game for 40 minutes.”
The turning point took place early in the second period, when an 11-0 run got Dubai back into the game, and within 45-48 at halftime. And then, after the break, Kabengele and Avramovic started the show, fueling a 16-0 spurt that turned the game upside down.
“Probably just communication,” reasoned Kabengele when asked the reasons for his team’s transformation in the second half.
“[Until then] we got lost in their slips, their ball screens. They got to the paint much easier, so in the last three quarters we just focused on defense, communicating, and multiple efforts, and I feel like it became contagious throughout every quarter, and we kept growing and growing, and we were able to keep our lead.”
Kabengele and Avramovic combined for 19 points in the third quarter, helping Dubai to amass a double-digit lead early in the last period. Even though Zalgiris never gave up and managed to get within a single possession in the last minute, energy was on Dubai’s side for good. And Kabengele felt it.
“I remember I was boxing out,” he answered, recalling the moment in which he realized the win was possible. “I think it was the third or the fourth quarter and [Awudu] Abass came and just swooped in and took the rebound and pushed the break. That's when I realized we were connected, invested in one accord, so that moment when the guard started crashing the glass, boxing out, because they're a good rebounding team, that's when I knew.”
Dubai ended up scoring 95 points against the best defense so far in the competition, capping a magic week in which it averaged 98.5. And that means a lot for a club that is playing for the first time at an elite level, a club that wants to dream big.
“[These wins are] very important to make us see that we can. We can play with everybody,” remarked Golemac. “But on the other hand, it doesn't mean anything. We need to analyze. We need to try to keep the good things, and we need to be better.”
“Overall, we played a very organized game,” Avramovic added. “A double win in this double week is important. We are back on track. I don't know if we are now top 10, top 12, I don't know, honestly, how are the standings. But this is the way we need to play if we want to achieve something big.”
