Superleague Round 1 (Regular Season): Gorgan beat Limondis

The Regular Season in Superleague just started. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Gorgan defeated Limondis at home 81-65. Lebanese-American forward Norvel Pelle (208-1993, college: Iona) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 17 points and 15 rebounds for the winners and the former international guard Navid Rezaeifar (185-1996) chipped in 26 points and 7 assists. At the losing side American point guard Jalen Bradley (185-1993, college: ORU) responded with 21 points. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Limondis will play next round against Kerman trying to get back on the winning streak. Gorgan will try to continue on its current victory against Zob Ahan in Esfahan.
The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of Raad in Esfahan. Visitors were defeated by Zob Ahan 76-68. American Jamal Jones (203-1993, college: Texas A&M) nailed 17 points and 6 rebounds for the winning side and Ali Kashani accounted for 10 points and 7 assists. Behnam Jomehzadeh came up with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 14 rebounds for Raad in the defeat. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Zob Ahan will play against Gorgan on the road in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Raad will play against Rafsanjan to get more than just one victory in their record.
Very important is a road loss of Averta against Kalleh on Thursday night. Visiting Averta was defeated by Kalleh in a tough game in Amol 74-83. Matin Aghajanpour fired 25 points for the winners. Kalleh's coach Ali Arezoomandi used entire bench saving starting five for next games. Majid Rahimian produced 18 points and 4 assists for lost side. Kalleh will meet Tabiat in the next round. Averta will play against Mahram and hope to win that game.

There were no shocking results in the rest of the games of round 1: Sanaye lost to Mahram on the opponent's court 64-76. Kerman lost to Tabiat in a home game 62-78. Rafsanjan lost to undefeated Naft Abadan on the road 91-92.



Zob Ahan - Raad 76-68

The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of Raad in Esfahan. Visitors were defeated by Zob Ahan 76-68. Zob Ahan players were unselfish on offense dishing 25 assists. American Jamal Jones (203-1993, college: Texas A&M) nailed 17 points and 6 rebounds for the winning side and Ali Kashani (186-2000) accounted for 10 points and 7 assists. Behnam Jomehzadeh came up with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 14 rebounds and Pooria Khalifeh added 13 points and 4 assists respectively for Raad in the defeat. Four Raad players scored in double figures. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Zob Ahan will play against Gorgan on the road in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Raad will play against Rafsanjan to get more than just one victory in their record.
Top scorers:
Zob Ahan: J.Jones 17+6reb, K.Ali 10+4reb+7ast, P.Shayan 9+7reb+3ast, M.Hossien 8+4reb+5ast, M.Reza Akbari 7+2reb, A.Kardoust 6+7reb+5ast
Raad: J.Behnam 20+14reb, K.Pooria 13+3reb+4ast, E.Samadi 12+3reb+4ast, F.Pedram 11+6reb+1ast, V.Mohsen 9+4reb+3ast, N.Danial 3+1reb

Kalleh - Averta 83-74

Very important is a road loss of Averta against Kalleh on Thursday night. Visiting Averta was defeated by Kalleh in a tough game in Amol 74-83. Kalleh made 29-of-34 free shots (85.3 percent) during the game. It was a great shooting night for Kalleh especially from behind the arc, where they had solid 58.8 percentage. The former international Matin Aghajanpour (199-2001) fired 25 points for the winners. American point guard Patrick Rembert (185-1990, college: UC Irvine, agency: Slash Sports) chipped in 17 points and 5 assists. Four Kalleh players scored in double figures. Kalleh's coach Ali Arezoomandi used entire bench saving starting five for next games. The former international Majid Rahimian produced 18 points and 4 assists and American-Haitian guard Derric Jean (188-1997, college: La Tech, agency: BIG) added 15 points and 6 rebounds respectively for lost side. Kalleh will meet Tabiat in the next round. Averta will play against Mahram and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Kalleh: A.Matin 25+3reb, P.Rembert 17+2reb+5ast, Y.Nosrat 13+3reb, Y.Amirhossein 10+3reb, M.Mirzaei 8+5reb, R.Ranjbar 4+4reb
Averta: R.Majid 18+4reb+4ast, D.Jean 15+6reb+1ast, J.van der List 10+3reb, M.Yazdanpanah 9+6reb, A.Mortazavi 9+3reb, E.Beigi 8+8reb

Mahram - Sanaye 76-64

Mahram used a home court advantage and beat the opponent from Bandar Abbass 76-64 on Thursday night. Mahram outrebounded Sanaye 34-17 including a 27-14 advantage in defensive rebounds. It was a great shooting night for Mahram especially from behind the arc, where they had solid 60.0 percentage. The former international Mohammad Jamshidi (199-1991, agency: BIG) fired 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners. The former international forward Sajjad Pazrofteh (205-1996) chipped in a double-double by scoring 16 points and 10 rebounds. The former international point guard Mohammad Bahram (180-1998) produced 23 points and the former international forward Eshagh Hatami (190-2000) added 13 points and 5 rebounds respectively for lost side. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Mahram will meet Averta in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Sanaye will play against Naft Abadan and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Mahram: M.Jamshidi 30+5reb+5ast, S.Pazrofteh 16+10reb+2ast, G.Piter 8+4reb+1ast, J.Matin 6+3ast, S.Ali 5+6reb, A.Khandanpour 3+2reb+1ast
Sanaye: M.Bahram 23+3ast, H.Eshagh 13+5reb+2ast, J.Sarem 6+1reb+1ast, P.Kiani 6+2reb+3ast, M.Perovic 5+3reb, D.Mohammadamin 5+2reb+1ast

Kerman - Tabiat 62-78

But Kerman was not able to use a home court advantage and lost to the opponent from 78-62 on Thursday night. Tabiat forced 20 Kerman turnovers. Swiss point guard Jordan Stevens (182-1994, college: Midwestern St.) fired 30 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners. Nigerian-American swingman Michael Gbinije (201-1992, college: Syracuse, agency: AltusBasket) chipped in 21 points. Erfan Soleimani produced 11 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists and Mehdi Afkhami added 12 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists respectively for lost side. Tabiat will meet at home Kalleh in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Kerman will play against Limondis and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Tabiat: J.Stevens 30+9reb+4ast, M.Gbinije 21+4reb+2ast, A.Zangeneh 9+9reb+1ast, J.Ashkan 7+2reb+1ast, M.Shahrian 7+4reb+3ast, S.Davarpanah 2+2reb+2ast
Kerman: A.Mehdi 12+5reb+5ast, H.Seyed 12+2reb+1ast, S.Erfan 11+8reb+4ast, M.Mohsen 9+9reb, M.Esmaeili 6+8reb+1ast, M.Amirhosein 5+3reb+1ast

Naft Abadan - Rafsanjan 92-91

Naft Abadan used a home court advantage and edged the opponent from Rafsanjan 92-91 on Thursday night. Naft Abadan shot 24 for 37 from the free-throw line, while Rafsanjan only scored eight points from the stripe. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. The former international guard Ehsan Dalirzahan (186-2000) fired 33 points (!!!) and 7 assists for the winners. Amir Taherkhani chipped in 22 points and 9 rebounds. Croatian swingman Fran Pilepic (194-1989) produced 24 points and 7 assists and guard Pouya Yakhchali (-1996) added 20 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists respectively for lost side. Four Rafsanjan players scored in double figures. Naft Abadan will meet Sanaye in the next round which should be an easy win for them. Rafsanjan will play against Raad and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Naft Abadan: D.Ehsan 33+3reb+7ast, A.Taherkhani 22+9reb+1ast, M.Torabi 17+7reb, N.Khajezadeh 7+2reb+2ast, M.Hassanzadeh 7+10reb+5ast, F.Aslani 5+8reb+8ast
Rafsanjan: F.Pilepic 24+4reb+7ast, Y.Pouya 20+6reb+4ast, J.Jucikas 18+6reb, V.Ali 10+7reb+4ast, T.Mohamadreza 8+5reb+4ast, A.Amin 6+3reb

Gorgan - Limondis 81-65

Gorgan defeated Limondis at home 81-65. Lebanese-American forward Norvel Pelle (208-1993, college: Iona) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 17 points and 15 rebounds for the winners and the former international guard Navid Rezaeifar (185-1996) chipped in 26 points and 7 assists. At the losing side American point guard Jalen Bradley (185-1993, college: ORU) responded with 21 points and center Seyed Mortaza Jafari (178-2001) scored 8 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Limondis will play next round against Kerman trying to get back on the winning streak. Gorgan will try to continue on its current victory against Zob Ahan in Esfahan.
Top scorers:
Gorgan: N.Rezaeifar 26+7ast, N.Pelle 17+15reb+1ast, V.Sina 13+2reb+2ast, A.Azari 8+2reb, M.Sheikhi 7+2reb, A.Khashayar 3
Limondis: J.Bradley 21+1reb+2ast, V.Aliabadi 14+3reb+1ast, D.Tubak 11+2reb+1ast, S.Mortaza Jafari 8+7reb+4ast, K.Mohammadamin 4+3reb+1ast, V.Dalirzahan 4+3reb+1ast