Dubai Basketball continued its impressive start to the season, extending their unbeaten run in the ABA League with a hard-fought 81-77 victory over one of the league’s newest addition, Romanian side U-BT Cluj-Napoca at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.
Following strong performances in their debut EuroLeague campaign, the city’s first home basketball club once again demonstrated composure and depth to remain flawless across competitions.
The matchup against Cluj-Napoca, another new entrant to the league, was closely contested despite Dubai controlling the pace for most of the game.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Romanian side mounted a strong comeback attempt, led by Dušan Miletić, who nearly turned the tide on his own. However, Dubai maintained focus in the final minutes to secure the win and preserve their perfect record.
Although giving up the lead in brief moments throughout the game, Dubai Basketball Head Coach Jurica Golemac praised the team and the fans for their tenacity to win, “Today we were expecting a very difficult game, and that’s what happened. We needed energy after the week that took us out. We found that the crowd was what was giving us the energy again, with our fans helping us in the most crucial moments. Again, one more time, we won the game with defense, with strong energy and physicality.”
Mfiondu Kabengele once again led the way with an impactful double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds, anchoring Dubai on both ends of the floor. McKinley Wright added 11 points in one of his standout performances this season, while Sertaç Şanlı contributed 10 points to round out the team’s balanced offensive effort.
Making his debut for Dubai Basketball in the most impressive way, Şanlı was credited with turning the game around in a tied-up score final quarter. “We didn’t play well the whole game, but we showed good hustle, especially in the second half, and managed to get the win.”
“I know that game by game, I’ll get better — I’ll understand my teammates more, understand the coach better, and grow with the team. We still have a long way to go, but I believe we’ll keep improving every game.”
Dubai Basketball will return to home court following a two week away stint with their next match up against LDLC ASVEL in Lyon on November 3 at the Coca-Cola Arena.
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