SABA Battery - BK Almaty 88:77
The Asia Champions Cup resumed its action after a couple of days of mourning after the death of Emir of Kuwait. Yesterday the quarterfinal games were played and the defending champions SABA Battery claimed their semifinal spot. With the semifinal birth at stake SABA Battery turned on to the maximum speed to dominate right from the start. The Iranian outfit easily jumped to a 25:14 after the opening frame but the game was far from settled.
SABA Battery - BK Almaty 88:77
The Asia Champions Cup resumed its action after a couple of days of mourning after the death of Emir of Kuwait. Yesterday the quarterfinal games were played and the defending champions SABA Battery claimed their semifinal spot. With the semifinal birth at stake SABA Battery turned on to the maximum speed to dominate right from the start. The Iranian outfit easily jumped to a 25:14 after the opening frame but the game was far from settled. BK Almaty kept a steady line and gradually cut the gap to 4 points at the long break. The Kazakh team stayed competitive throughout the third period as their trademark tough defense proved quite difficult for SABA to deal with. But Samad Nikkah drained a couple of three-pointers and the reigning champions enjoyed a 66:60 lead with a quarter to go. SABA stepped on the gas in the final term and looked more aggressive in the long run. Gabe Muoneke (200-F-78, college: Texas) took over the floor in the dying minutes leading SABA to an impressive victory. He finished with game-high 26 points for the victors. Samad Nikkah produced 24 points, while Hamed Hadadi (218-C-85, agency: Huss Sport Agency) scored 17 points in a winning case. Vsevolod Fadeykin (206-G-85) answered with 25 points for BK Almaty. Mikhail Yevstigneev netted 24 points in defeat. SABA Battery will take on undefeated Wasl in the semis tomorrow.
Al Rayyan - BK Almaty 89:68
The Asia Champions Cup preliminary round has ended with the teams preparing for the quarterfinal battles now. Yesterday the curtain fell with 8 teams figuring out the last placing in the Groups. In Group A Qatari Al Rayyan topples BK Almaty from Kazakhstan to claim the second spot. The trademark defense from BK Almaty did not well quite smoothly right from the start and Al Rayyan easily ran away to a 32:15 distance after the first frame.
Al Rayyan - BK Almaty 89:68
The Asia Champions Cup preliminary round has ended with the teams preparing for the quarterfinal battles now. Yesterday the curtain fell with 8 teams figuring out the last placing in the Groups. In Group A Qatari Al Rayyan topples BK Almaty from Kazakhstan to claim the second spot. The trademark defense from BK Almaty did not well quite smoothly right from the start and Al Rayyan easily ran away to a 32:15 distance after the first frame. Eric Chatfield (191-G-79, college: N.Mexico) paced well balanced Al Rayyan offense and the team enjoyed a 24-point cushion before the fourth period. BK Almaty simply could not match their opponents tempo and trailed by unassailable 25 points after three quarters of action. Vsevolod Fadeykin (206-G-85) helped Kazakh team cut the deficit a bit in the fourth period but it never influenced the outcome as Al Rayyan posted their 3rd win in the tournament. Eric Chatfield scored 28 points for Qatari team. Daoud Musa (193-G-82) dropped 23 points, while Dalron Johnson (206-F-81, college: UNLV) had 15 points in a winning case. Mikhail Evstigneev (203-F-84) and Vsevolod Fadeykin nailed 20 points apiece for BK Almaty. BK Almaty will now face the defending champions SABA Battery in the quarterfinal on Wednesday. Al Rayyan will be opposed by Al Muharraq at the stage. Al Rayyan coach Brian Lester stressed the necessity of playing a tougher defense against Al Muharraq in order to celebrate success. Al Rayyan can hope for some big results this season as Eric Chatfield seems to glue well with Dalron Johnson and the duo is a dangerous weapon against any side.
BK Almaty - Zain 76:60
Kazakhstan sensation BK Almaty posted their second win at the Asia Champions Cup yesterday. This time they quite easily handled Zain Club from Jordan to improve to 2-1 record in Group A ladder. Zain meanwhile suffered their third straight defeat and put themselves on the edge of missing the playoffs. They now must beat Muba Hangtuah today to make it to the quarterfinals.
BK Almaty - Zain 76:60
Kazakhstan sensation BK Almaty posted their second win at the Asia Champions Cup yesterday. This time they quite easily handled Zain Club from Jordan to improve to 2-1 record in Group A ladder. Zain meanwhile suffered their third straight defeat and put themselves on the edge of missing the playoffs. They now must beat Muba Hangtuah today to make it to the quarterfinals. BK Almaty started the game playing an aggressive defense while Zain Club looked sloppy at the early stages. BK Almaty jumped to a 24:15 lead after the starting frame and kept mounting the pressure. They held Zain Club to 11 points in the second quarter and stretched the gap to 14 points at halftime. BK Almaty never looked back in the second half and rolled to a confident victory. Vsevolod Fadeykin (206-G-85) topscored with 21 points for BK Almaty. Anton Kataev (201-F-84) provided 19 points in a winning case. Mohammad Hadrab nailed 22 points for Zain Club. Mosa Bashir dropped 13 points in a losing effort. Zain Club head coach Maz Trakh did not draw too much attention to the loss. He underlined the importance of the experience gained by his bench players in the game of such level and pointed out that one win would suit his team to reach quarterfinal. Zain play against Indonesian Muba Hangtuah for the last ticket to the playoffs from Pool A. BK Almaty will take on Al Rayyan later tonight.
BK Almaty - Muba Hangtuah 71:49
Kazakhstan BK Almaty strengthened their position in preliminary Pool A at the Asia Champions Cup in Kuwait. They overcame Indonesian Muba Hangtuah for the first win at the tournament. It allowed Kazakh team to improve to 1-1 record and stay hopeful about their chances to reach quarterfinal stage. Muba Hangtuah meanwhile slipped to 0-3 record and need pure luck to stay in title race.
BK Almaty - Muba Hangtuah 71:49
Kazakhstan BK Almaty strengthened their position in preliminary Pool A at the Asia Champions Cup in Kuwait. They overcame Indonesian Muba Hangtuah for the first win at the tournament. It allowed Kazakh team to improve to 1-1 record and stay hopeful about their chances to reach quarterfinal stage. Muba Hangtuah meanwhile slipped to 0-3 record and need pure luck to stay in title race. BK Almaty understood it was a good chance for them to open the victories count for them and they fired from all guns early in the game. It worked pretty smoothly as BK Almaty jumped to a 25:14 lead after the starting frame. But Muba Hangtuah never was an easy take as they struck back in the second frame. Indonesian team trimmed the gap to just 7 points at the long break. But a perfect defensive effort from BK Almaty limited their opponents to only 6 points in the third stanza as the Kazakhstan squad went on a 24:6 run to clear off to a safe distance. Muba Hangtuah recovered in the final frame but it was too late to threaten BK Almaty lead. Anton Kataev (201-F-84) led the action with 19 points for BK Almaty. Vsevolod Fadeykin (206-G-85) had 14 points, while Mikhail Evstigneev (203-F-84) launched 13 points in a win. Adhitya Tuhagono (178-G-84) answered with 13 points for MubaHang. Marcus Jacobs (183-G-80, college: Tarleton St.) nailed 12 points in defeat. BK Almaty will face winless Zain Club later tonight. Muba Hangtuah will a have a bye round before taking on Zain Club tomorrow.
Al Riyadi - BK Almaty 100:52
Lebanese Al Riyadi got to an impressive start of their Asia Champions Cup campaign in Kuwait. They routed Kazakhstan BK Almaty to gain their first win at the competition. Both teams were assigned into the preliminary Group A together with Zain Club from Jordan, Al Rayyan from Qatar and Indonesian MABU Hangtuah. Lebanese powerhouse opened the game in a high-flying manner doing perfect defensive job limiting their opponents to 7 points.
Al Riyadi - BK Almaty 100:52
Lebanese Al Riyadi got to an impressive start of their Asia Champions Cup campaign in Kuwait. They routed Kazakhstan BK Almaty to gain their first win at the competition. Both teams were assigned into the preliminary Group A together with Zain Club from Jordan, Al Rayyan from Qatar and Indonesian MABU Hangtuah. Lebanese powerhouse opened the game in a high-flying manner doing perfect defensive job limiting their opponents to 7 points. Al Riyadi held to a 21:7 lead after the first frame and stretched the gap to as many as 31 points at halftime. Fadi El Khatib (197-F-79, agency: Pro Management Agency) and Joseph Joe Vogel (211-C-73, agency: Pro Management Agency, college: Colorado St.) looked too good for Almaty defense at the moment and paced the Beirut outfit to a confident success. BK Almaty never threatened the margin after the long intermission. Moreover Lebanese team piled up an insurmountable 51-point buffer before the fourth team. They eased past hapless BK Almaty in the fourth term to celebrate an impressive victory. Ahmad Ismail (201-F-76) scored 21 points and was named the games MVP. Fadi El Khatib provided 17 points and 6 boards for the winners. Anton Kataev (201-F-84) and Vladimir Gellert (202-F-81) answered with 12 points apiece for Kazakhstan team in defeat. Al Riyadi will take on MABU Hangtuah tomorrow. BK Almaty will have a bye round tomorrow.
Tigers celebrated the win in the Final series over Almaty after fourth game between the teams. After 1-1 in the series Tigers won the third game to take 2-0 lead after 84:76. Raheim Brown (208-F-79, agency: Interperformances, college: Florida Atlantic) showed a good game for the winners, while Zaykin Aleksandr shined in the losing effort. The first quarter ended up at 18:17 and then Tigers increased to 43:40.
