DUBAI: Dubai Basketball extended their winning streak to four games with a nail-biting 87-86 win over SC Derby in the ABA League, improving their overall record to 6-1 for the season.
Isaiah Taylor’s free throw with 10 seconds remaining proved to be the difference on a thrilling night in Montenegro.
Dubai dominated for long periods, leading by six points with less than 90 seconds on clock, but were forced to continually dig deep against a side that posed a constant threat throughout the night.
Ahmet Duverioglu was top scorer for Dubai with 14 points, backing that up with a team-high eight rebounds and three steals. But the key to Dubai’s victory was their team-first mentality, finding the open man when it mattered most. Incredibly, seven different players on Dubai’s roster scored double digits — the first time that has happened this season.
Dubai Basketball’s head coach, Jurica Golemac, said he knew it would be a tough game from the outset but that his team ultimately deserved the win.
He said: “For sure, it was a difficult game, but that’s what we were preparing for. We had to win this three or four times. They play fast, great basketball and have great quality.
“We led for 35 minutes and the victory was deserved, but this is an indication that we still have to work and train a lot.”
Despite Dubai having a 9-point lead at halftime they were forced to contend with American Eric Neal, who was sensational for the home side. Neal dropped 34 points on the night, more than double his season average — shooting an outstanding 8-for-10 (80 percent) from three-point territory — to keep his team in contention. In previous rounds, Neal had struggled beyond the arc, shooting 6-31 (19.35 percent).
Dubai’s lead would stretch to as many as 12 points midway through the second quarter, but in the third the home side would rally again, cutting the difference to two points with ten minutes remaining.
A Nate Mason three, and a free throw from Duverioglu gave Dubai an eight-point lead in the fourth, before a late surge from SC Derby evened the game at 86-86 — thanks to another Eric Neal three with 33 seconds left on the clock.
Like a flashback from their Round 5 victory over Spartak, the ball — and the game — was placed in Isaiah Taylor’s hands with 10 seconds remaining, as he drove to the rim but was fouled on the play. Taylor would convert his second of two free throws to give Dubai the lead, but with time left SC Derby still had the opportunity to answer back.
With a few ticks of the clock remaining, solid defense by Davis Bertans and Awudu Abass forced SC Derby’s star, Eric Neal, to lose the ball, making a game-winning attempt impossible while closing out the win for Dubai.
Next, Dubai Basketball face ABA League giants Partizan Mozzart Bet, in Serbia on Nov. 10 in what some experts are calling a defining test.
After three games on the road, Dubai Basketball will have been away from their home fans for almost a month when they return to the Coca-Cola Arena to face Krka on Nov. 17.
