Superleague Round 6 (Regular Season): Naft Abadan lose to Gorgan

Coincidentally all hosts won their games. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The biggest surprise took place in Gorgan where host Gorgan (5-1) crushed league's leader Naft Abadan (5-1) 111-73 on Friday evening. It ended at the same time the five-game winning streak of Naft Abadan. It was a key game for the top position in the league. Gorgan forced 20 Naft Abadan turnovers and outrebounded them 41-26 including 30 on the defensive glass. Gorgan looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists comparing to just 8 passes made by Naft Abadan's players. The best player for the winners was American point guard Will Cherry (185-1991, college: Montana) who scored 24 points. The former international guard Navid Rezaeifar (185-1996) chipped in 20 points. At the other side the best for losing team was the former international guard Ehsan Dalirzahan (186-2000) who recorded 22 points. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Defending champion keeps a position of league leader, which they share with 3 other teams including defeated Naft Abadan.
Bottom-ranked Sanaye (0-6) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 78-74 loss to ninth ranked Averta (2-4) in . It was a good game for the former international Majid Rahimian who led his team to a victory with 29 points and 9 rebounds (went 9 for 9 at the free throw line !!!). Jeroen van der List contributed with 20 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals for the winners. Montenegrin center Marko Perovic (204-1992, agency: PEPI SPORT) replied with 23 points (went 8 for 8 at the free throw line) for Sanaye. Sanaye's coach Reza Hengampour rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Averta moved-up to eighth place, which they share with Limondis. Sanaye at the other side still closes the standings with six games lost.

Rest of the games of round 6 were quite predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
Raad was defeated by Limondis in a road game 83-71. Tabiat beat Rafsanjan at home 82-76. Kalleh lost to Zob Ahan on the opponent's court 66-76.
The best stats of 6th round was 21 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists by Rasoul Mozafari of Zob Ahan.



Averta - Sanaye 78-74

Bottom-ranked Sanaye (0-6) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 78-74 loss to ninth ranked Averta (2-4) in . They made 18-of-23 charity shots (78.3 percent) during the game. It was a good game for the former international Majid Rahimian who led his team to a victory with 29 points and 9 rebounds (went 9 for 9 at the free throw line !!!). Dutch power forward Jeroen van der List (213-1989, college: Indian Hills, agency: BIG) contributed with 20 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals for the winners. Montenegrin center Marko Perovic (204-1992, agency: PEPI SPORT) replied with 23 points (went 8 for 8 at the free throw line) and the former international forward Eshagh Hatami (190-2000) added 14 points (on 7-of-8 shooting from the field) in the effort for Sanaye. Sanaye's coach Reza Hengampour rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Averta moved-up to eighth place, which they share with Limondis. Sanaye at the other side still closes the standings with six games lost.
Top scorers:
Averta: R.Majid 29+9reb+3ast, J.van der List 20+9reb+7ast, S.Amirmehdi 10+5reb+2ast, H.Mahdi 8+1reb, Y.Shaloushi 4, F.Nima 3+4reb+1ast
Sanaye: M.Perovic 23+3reb, H.Eshagh 14+4reb+1ast, G.Omid 9+5reb+1ast, R.Crawford 8+5reb+3ast, P.Kiani 7+4reb+2ast, M.Bahram 6+1reb+1ast

Limondis - Raad 83-71

Everything could happen at the game between two tied teams. Both ninth ranked Limondis and 11th ranked Raad had identical 1-4 record. This time Limondis used a home court advantage and beat the opponent from Mashhad 83-71. Limondis dominated down low during the game scoring 58 of its points in the paint compared to Raad's 36. Limondis forced 23 Raad turnovers. It was a good game for American point guard Jalen Bradley (185-1993, college: ORU, agency: Haylett Sports) who led his team to a victory with 27 points. Arash Sabeti contributed with 15 points and 4 steals for the winners. Behnam Jomehzadeh replied with 15 points and 8 rebounds and the former international swingman Ehsan Samadi (192-1998) added 17 points and 5 assists in the effort for Raad. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Limondis (2-4) moved-up to eighth place, which they share with Averta. Raad lost third consecutive game. They keep the eleventh position with five games lost.
Top scorers:
Limondis: J.Bradley 27+3reb+1ast, A.Sabeti 15+2reb+2ast, S.Mortaza Jafari 10+2reb+5ast, V.Aliabadi 9+2reb+6ast, K.Mohammadamin 6+1reb+1ast, N.Reza 5+1reb
Raad: E.Samadi 17+1reb+5ast, J.Behnam 15+8reb+1ast, K.Pooria 12+4reb+2ast, F.Pedram 8+4reb+3ast, N.Alireza 4+2reb, S.Hosein 4+4reb+1ast

Gorgan - Naft Abadan 111-73

The biggest surprise took place in Gorgan where host Gorgan (5-1) crushed league's leader Naft Abadan (5-1) 111-73 on Friday evening. It ended at the same time the five-game winning streak of Naft Abadan. It was a key game for the top position in the league. Gorgan forced 20 Naft Abadan turnovers and outrebounded them 41-26 including 30 on the defensive glass. Gorgan looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists comparing to just 8 passes made by Naft Abadan's players. The best player for the winners was American point guard Will Cherry (185-1991, college: Montana) who scored 24 points. The former international guard Navid Rezaeifar (185-1996) chipped in 20 points. At the other side the best for losing team was the former international guard Ehsan Dalirzahan (186-2000) who recorded 22 points and Amir Seddighi added 21 points and 7 rebounds respectively. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Defending champion keeps a position of league leader, which they share with 3 other teams including defeated Naft Abadan.
Top scorers:
Gorgan: W.Cherry 24+4reb+3ast, N.Rezaeifar 20+3reb+3ast, V.Sina 17+3ast, Y.Mohammad 11+4reb, M.Sheikhi 9+4reb+4ast, N.Pelle 8+9reb+2ast
Naft Abadan: D.Ehsan 22+3reb+3ast, S.Amir 21+7reb, R.Hesam 13, Z.Nader 6, A.Taherkhani 4+2reb, F.Pooya 2+3reb

Tabiat - Rafsanjan 82-76

No shocking result in a game when third ranked Tabiat (5-1) defeated at home 7th ranked Rafsanjan (3-3) 82-76. However just six-point win is not that big difference and the fans of host team counted on more convincing victory. It was a good game for American point guard Jordan Stevens (182-1994, college: Midwestern St.) who led his team to a victory with 40 points (!!!) and 7 assists. Nigerian-American swingman Michael Gbinije (201-1992, college: Syracuse, agency: AltusBasket) contributed with a double-double by scoring 19 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. Tabiat's coach Alborz Goli Abkenari allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. Lithuanian power forward Julius Jucikas (204-1989, agency: BIG) replied with 16 points and 8 rebounds and Mohamadreza Taghiloo (192-2000) added 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in the effort for Rafsanjan. Four Rafsanjan players scored in double figures. Tabiat keeps a position of league leader, which they share with 3 other teams. Rafsanjan at the other side dropped to the sixth place with three games lost. They share the position with Kalleh.
Top scorers:
Tabiat: J.Stevens 40+4reb+7ast, M.Gbinije 19+11reb, A.Zangeneh 8+11reb+5ast, S.Majid 5+2reb, J.Ashkan 5+3reb+1ast, A.Akbari Hasan 5+3reb
Rafsanjan: J.Jucikas 16+8reb+1ast, F.Pilepic 16+4reb+3ast, T.Mohamadreza 15+5reb+4ast, Y.Pouya 14+1reb+2ast, V.Ali 7+7reb+1ast, A.Meysam 4+2reb+1ast

Zob Ahan - Kalleh 76-66

The game between closely ranked teams ended with 5th ranked Kalleh's (3-3) road loss to fourth ranked Zob Ahan (5-1) 66-76. It was a good game for international Rasoul Mozafari (188-1994) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 21 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists. American point guard Dwight Buycks (191-1989, college: Marquette) contributed with 18 points for the winners. Zob Ahan's coach Mehran Hatami used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Forward Nosrat Yazarloo (197-2002) replied with 18 points and 6 rebounds and American point guard Patrick Rembert (185-1990, college: UC Irvine, agency: Slash Sports) added 14 points and 5 assists in the effort for Kalleh. Zob Ahan have a solid four-game winning streak. They keep a position of league leader, which they share with 3 other teams. Newly promoted Kalleh dropped to the sixth place with three games lost. They share the position with Rafsanjan.
Top scorers:
Zob Ahan: R.Mozafari 21+8reb+10ast, D.Buycks 18+1reb+3ast, A.Kardoust 14+6reb, M.Hossien 8+3reb+2ast, M.Reza Akbari 6+5reb+1ast, M.Soleymani 4+5reb
Kalleh: Y.Nosrat 18+6reb+1ast, P.Rembert 14+3reb+5ast, Y.Amirhossein 9+6reb+3ast, M.Mirzaei 6+6reb+1ast, R.Ranjbar 6+6reb, D.Ali 6+3reb+2ast