Superleague Round 21: Kerman defeat Sirjan in the closest game of the week

The teams have now bigger motivation at this stage of Regular Season. Every game can be crucial and decide about teams' position at the end of Regular Season. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most exciting game of round 21 in the Superleague took place in Sirjan. This derby game ended with only three-point home defeat of second-best Sirjan (8-4) to third ranked Kerman (7-5) 95-92 on Saturday evening. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Sirjan. Kerman made 20-of-24 free shots (83.3 percent) during the game. The former international center Asghar Kardoust (212-86, agency: BIG) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 15 rebounds (on 9-of-10 shooting from the field) for the winners and Igor Shomakov chipped in 25 points and 5 rebounds. Kerman's coach Mohammed Eslami used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. The best for the losing side was Russian guard Anton Ponkrashov (200-86) with 23 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Despite that victory Kerman went down to fifth position due to points difference. Newly promoted Sirjan keeps the second place with four games lost. Kerman are looking forward to face Naft Abadan (#6) on the road in the next round. Sirjan will play against Zob Ahan (#4) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Bottom-ranked Niroo Zamini (0-12) is still winless. This time they lost on the road their 12th consecutive match to fifth ranked Kouchin (7-3) 86-67. Center Mehdi Jafari (204-96) nailed a double-double by scoring 17 points and 16 rebounds for the winning side and Amirhossein Yazarloo accounted for 16 points and 13 rebounds. Guard Pouya Yakhchali (-96) came up with 30 points and 5 rebounds for Niroo Zamini in the defeat. Niroo Zamini's coach M Shokrolahi rotated ten players seeing no chance for a win. Kouchin have a solid series of four victories in a row. They moved-up to third place, which they share with Zob Ahan and Rafsanjan. Niroo Zamini at the other side still closes the standings with 12 games lost. Kouchin will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Niroo Zamini will play at home against Khouzestan (#7) and hopes to get finally their first victory.

In the last game of round 21 Naft Abadan lost to Zob Ahan on the opponent's court 63-70.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 26 points and 5 assists by Ehsan Dalirzahan of Naft Abadan.

Kouchin - Niroo Zamini 86-67

Bottom-ranked Niroo Zamini (0-12) is still winless. This time they lost on the road their 12th consecutive match to fifth ranked Kouchin (7-3) 86-67. They made 16-of-21 charity shots (76.2 percent) during the game. Kouchin outrebounded Niroo Zamini 55-30 including a 41-25 advantage in defensive rebounds. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 23 assists. Center Mehdi Jafari (204-96) nailed a double-double by scoring 17 points and 16 rebounds for the winning side and international Amirhossein Yazarloo (196-2) accounted for 16 points and 13 rebounds. Four Kouchin players scored in double figures. Guard Pouya Yakhchali (-96) came up with 30 points and 5 rebounds and Khashayar Ali-Akbari added 13 points and 8 assists respectively for Niroo Zamini in the defeat. Niroo Zamini's coach M Shokrolahi rotated ten players seeing no chance for a win. Kouchin have a solid series of four victories in a row. They moved-up to third place, which they share with Zob Ahan and Rafsanjan. Niroo Zamini at the other side still closes the standings with 12 games lost. Kouchin will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Niroo Zamini will play at home against Khouzestan (#7) and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Kouchin: L.Mohammadhadi 20+4reb+3ast, M.Jafari 17+16reb, Y.Amirhossein 16+13reb+3ast, A.Matin 12+6reb+7ast, Y.Nosrat 7+8reb+1ast, D.Balaban 6+2reb+3ast
Niroo Zamini: Y.Pouya 30+5reb+3ast, A.Khashayar 13+3reb+8ast, Z.Soheil 10+5reb, P.Ghonoudi 8+4reb, S.Reza 5+5reb+2ast, N.Maziar 1+4reb

Sirjan - Kerman 92-95

The most exciting game of round 21 in the Superleague took place in Sirjan. This derby game ended with only three-point home defeat of second-best Sirjan (8-4) to third ranked Kerman (7-5) 95-92 on Saturday evening. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Sirjan. Kerman made 20-of-24 free shots (83.3 percent) during the game. The former international center Asghar Kardoust (212-86, agency: BIG) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 15 rebounds (on 9-of-10 shooting from the field) for the winners and Igor Shomakov chipped in 25 points and 5 rebounds. Kerman's coach Mohammed Eslami used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. The best for the losing side was Russian guard Anton Ponkrashov (200-86) with 23 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists and Montenegrin-Serbian forward Nikola Dragovic (206-87, college: UCLA, agency: BeoBasket) produced a double-double by scoring 20 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists. Four Kerman and five Sirjan players scored in double figures. Despite that victory Kerman went down to fifth position due to points difference. Newly promoted Sirjan keeps the second place with four games lost. Kerman are looking forward to face Naft Abadan (#6) on the road in the next round. Sirjan will play against Zob Ahan (#4) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Kerman: S.Igor 25+5reb+2ast, I.Williams 24+1reb+6ast, A.Kardoust 20+15reb+1ast, S.Torabikhah 15+5reb+3ast, M.Falahat 9+5reb+6ast, M.Saleh 1+1reb
Sirjan: A.Ponkrashov 23+9reb+6ast, A.Taherkhani 21+6reb+2ast, N.Dragovic 20+13reb+4ast, M.Shahrian 11+2ast, M.Soleymani 10+3reb+4ast, E.Samadi 6+1reb+3ast

Zob Ahan - Naft Abadan 70-63

The game between closely ranked teams ended with 6th ranked Naft Abadan's (3-8) road loss to fifth ranked Zob Ahan (7-3) 63-70. Zob Ahan forced 24 Naft Abadan turnovers. The former international point guard Sajjad Mashayekhi (180-94) nailed 20 points and 5 rebounds for the winning side and the former international M. Reza Akbari (196-86) accounted for 10 points and 8 rebounds. The former international guard Ehsan Dalirzahan (186-0) came up with 26 points and 5 assists and Mehdi Helchi added 9 points and 5 rebounds respectively for Naft Abadan in the defeat. Naft Abadan's coach Ali Towfigh tested ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Zob Ahan have a solid series of three victories in a row. They moved-up to third place, which they share with Kouchin and Rafsanjan. Naft Abadan at the other side keeps the sixth position with eight games lost. They share it with Exxon SC. Zob Ahan will play against league's second-placed Sirjan on the road in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Naft Abadan will play against Kerman (#5) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Zob Ahan: S.Mashayekhi 20+5reb+1ast, F.Aslani 11+2reb+4ast, M.Reza Akbari 10+8reb+2ast, A.Zangeneh 9+8reb, A.Mortazavi 8+4reb+2ast, A.Mohmmad 6+1reb+2ast
Naft Abadan: D.Ehsan 26+3reb+5ast, S.Adnan 10+4reb+1ast, M.Helchi 9+5reb+2ast, R.Ranjbar 8+6reb, S.Mohammadi 7+3reb+1ast, N.Reza 3+1reb



Tags : ASGHAR KARDOUST, MES KERMAN, IRANIAN BASKETBALL