Superleague Round 15 (Regular Season): Zob Ahan edge Kerman by three points

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Eighth-ranked Kerman (7-8) made lots of trouble for second ranked Zob Ahan (13-2) on Thursday. The visitors from Esfahan managed to secure only three-point victory 71-68. However their fans expected much easier game. Zob Ahan dominated down low during the game scoring 42 of its points in the paint compared to Kerman's 22. 24 personal fouls committed by Kerman helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. The best player for the winners was international Rasoul Mozafari (188-1994) who scored 23 points and 5 rebounds. The former international point guard Aren Davoudichegani (185-1986, agency: BIG) chipped in 7 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Zob Ahan's coach Mehran Hatami used an eleven-player rotation in such tough game. At the other side the best for losing team was Mehdi Afkhami who recorded 11 points and 6 assists. Zob Ahan maintains second place with 13-2 record behind leader Gorgan. Kerman at the other side keeps the eighth position with eight games lost. Zob Ahan are looking forward to face Foolad (#11) in Bandar Abbass in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Kerman will play at home against Kalleh and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Important game to mention about took place in Abadan. Sixth ranked Naft Abadan (9-6) saved a 3-point victory at home edging 4th placed Tabiat (9-6) 80-77 in the game for the fourth place. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Tabiat. It was a good game for the former international guard Ehsan Dalirzahan (186-2000) who led his team to a victory with 24 points and 6 assists. Navid Khajezadeh contributed with 15 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. American point guard Jordan Stevens (182-1994, college: Midwestern St.) answered with 34 points (!!!) (went 9 for 9 at the free throw line !!!) for Tabiat. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Naft Abadan moved-up to fourth place, which they share with defeated Tabiat. Naft Abadan will play against Limondis (#10) in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Tabiat will play against Raad (#12) and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Leader Gorgan delivered the fourteenth victory on Thursday night. This time they beat 6th ranked Kalleh (8-7) 88-84 in Amol. It was a great evening for Will Cherry who led his team to a victory scoring 23 points. The best for the losing side was Meisam Mirzaei with a double-double by scoring 17 points and 12 rebounds. Kalleh's coach Ali Arezoomandi rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Gorgan (14-1) have an impressive series of eleven victories in a row. Defending champion maintains first place. Kalleh lost third consecutive game. Newly promoted team keeps the sixth position with seven games lost. They share it with Averta. Gorgan will meet at home Mahram (#3) in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Kalleh will play against Kerman and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

Other games of round 15 were quite predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
Limondis were defeated by Mahram in Tehran 106-91. Bottom-ranked Raad was smashed by Averta at home 65-93. Rafsanjan lost to Foolad on the opponent's court 76-79.
The best stats of 15th round was 25 points and 6 rebounds by Marko Perovic of Foolad.



Kalleh - Gorgan 84-88

Leader Gorgan delivered the fourteenth victory on Thursday night. This time they beat 6th ranked Kalleh (8-7) 88-84 in Amol. Gorgan made 17-of-20 free shots (85.0 percent) during the game. It was a great evening for American point guard Will Cherry (185-1991, college: Montana) who led his team to a victory scoring 23 points. Lebanese-American forward Norvel Pelle (208-1993, college: Iona, agency: BIG) helped adding 14 points and 10 rebounds. The best for the losing side was the former international center Meisam Mirzaei (210-1992) with a double-double by scoring 17 points and 12 rebounds and the former international Matin Aghajanpour (199-2001) scored 17 points and 5 rebounds. Four Kalleh players scored in double figures. Kalleh's coach Ali Arezoomandi rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Gorgan (14-1) have an impressive series of eleven victories in a row. Defending champion maintains first place. Kalleh lost third consecutive game. Newly promoted team keeps the sixth position with seven games lost. They share it with Averta. Gorgan will meet at home Mahram (#3) in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Kalleh will play against Kerman and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Gorgan: W.Cherry 23+3ast, N.Pelle 14+10reb, V.Sina 12+2reb+3ast, S.Monji 9+5reb, N.Rezaeifar 8+3reb+2ast, Y.Mohammad 7+4reb
Kalleh: M.Mirzaei 17+12reb+2ast, P.Rembert 17+3ast, A.Matin 17+5reb, Y.Amirhossein 13, D.Ali 7+2reb+2ast, A.Jalal 6+7reb

Mahram - Limondis 106-91

There was no surprise in Tehran where 10th ranked Limondis (4-11) were defeated by fourth ranked Mahram (10-5) 106-91 on Thursday. Mahram dominated down low during the game scoring 56 of its points in the paint compared to Limondis' 32. It was a great evening for American-Guinea-Bissau point guard Parrish Petty (185-1988, college: UTRGV) who led his team to a victory scoring 36 points (!!!), 7 rebounds and 4 assists. The former international Mohammad Jamshidi (199-1991, agency: BIG) helped adding 29 points and 4 assists. Petty is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. The best for the losing side was the former international Vahid Dalirzahan (199-1995) with a double-double by scoring 24 points and 10 rebounds and American point guard Jalen Bradley (185-1993, college: ORU, agency: Haylett Sports) scored 21 points and 4 assists. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches tested many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Mahram moved-up to third place. Newly promoted Limondis keep the tenth position with 11 games lost. Mahram will meet league's leader Gorgan on the road in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Limondis will play against Naft Abadan (#4) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Mahram: P.Petty 36+7reb+4ast, M.Jamshidi 29+4reb+4ast, G.Piter 14+3reb+4ast, R.Mohammadmehdi 11+10reb+1ast, A.Khandanpour 7+6reb+2ast, H.Mohammad 4+2reb+3ast
Limondis: V.Dalirzahan 24+10reb, J.Bradley 21+4reb+4ast, A.Sabeti 12+5reb+2ast, M.Khaleghifard 11+5reb, V.Aliabadi 7+2reb+2ast, K.Mohammadamin 5+6reb+2ast

Kerman - Zob Ahan 68-71

Eighth-ranked Kerman (7-8) made lots of trouble for second ranked Zob Ahan (13-2) on Thursday. The visitors from Esfahan managed to secure only three-point victory 71-68. However their fans expected much easier game. Zob Ahan dominated down low during the game scoring 42 of its points in the paint compared to Kerman's 22. 24 personal fouls committed by Kerman helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. The best player for the winners was international Rasoul Mozafari (188-1994) who scored 23 points and 5 rebounds. The former international point guard Aren Davoudichegani (185-1986, agency: BIG) chipped in 7 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Zob Ahan's coach Mehran Hatami used an eleven-player rotation in such tough game. At the other side the best for losing team was Mehdi Afkhami who recorded 11 points and 6 assists and Erfan Soleimani added 8 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists respectively. Zob Ahan maintains second place with 13-2 record behind leader Gorgan. Kerman at the other side keeps the eighth position with eight games lost. Zob Ahan are looking forward to face Foolad (#11) in Bandar Abbass in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Kerman will play at home against Kalleh and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Zob Ahan: R.Mozafari 23+5reb+3ast, D.Buycks 13+4reb, J.Jones 10+3reb+2ast, A.Davoudichegani 7+5reb+7ast, A.Kardoust 7+9reb, K.Ali 6+1reb
Kerman: C.Henry 13+1reb+6ast, H.Seyed 13+2reb+4ast, A.Mehdi 11+4reb+6ast, M.Mohsen 8+8reb+1ast, S.Erfan 8+8reb+5ast, M.Amirhosein 8+4reb+3ast

Raad - Averta 65-93

No shocking result in a game in Mashhad where seventh ranked Averta (8-7) smashed bottom-ranked Raad (1-14) 93-65 on Thursday. Averta outrebounded Raad 42-31 including 34 on the defensive glass. Averta shot the lights out from three sinking 13 long-distance shots on high 56.5 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. It was a great evening for forward Mohammad Yazdanpanah (201-1995) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 15 rebounds. Dutch power forward Jeroen van der List (213-1989, college: Indian Hills, agency: BIG) helped adding 17 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists. Five Averta players scored in double figures. The best for the losing side was Pedram Fakhfori with 15 points and Pouria Sajadimanesh scored 10 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. The victory was the third consecutive win for Averta. They moved-up to sixth place, which they share with Kalleh. Raad lost their twelfth game in a row. They stay at the bottom position with 14 games lost. Averta will meet at home Rafsanjan (#9) in the next round. Raad will play against Tabiat and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Averta: R.Majid 22+1reb+5ast, M.Yazdanpanah 18+15reb+2ast, J.van der List 17+12reb+4ast, D.Jean 15+5reb+7ast, A.Mortazavi 11+4reb+4ast, E.Beigi 3+1reb
Raad: F.Pedram 15+3reb, S.Pouria 10+4reb+3ast, V.Mohsen 9+6reb, K.Pooria 7+1reb+1ast, E.Samadi 7+3reb+4ast, N.Alireza 4+2reb

Naft Abadan - Tabiat 80-77

Important game to mention about took place in Abadan. Sixth ranked Naft Abadan (9-6) saved a 3-point victory at home edging 4th placed Tabiat (9-6) 80-77 in the game for the fourth place. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Tabiat. Tabiat was plagued by 24 personal fouls down the stretch. It was a good game for the former international guard Ehsan Dalirzahan (186-2000) who led his team to a victory with 24 points and 6 assists. The former international forward Navid Khajezadeh (196-1996) contributed with 15 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. Four Naft Abadan players scored in double figures. American point guard Jordan Stevens (182-1994, college: Midwestern St.) answered with 34 points (!!!) (went 9 for 9 at the free throw line !!!) and the former international Arman Zangeneh (202-1993, agency: BIG) added 13 points and 12 rebounds in the effort for Tabiat. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Naft Abadan moved-up to fourth place, which they share with defeated Tabiat. Naft Abadan will play against Limondis (#10) in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Tabiat will play against Raad (#12) and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Naft Abadan: D.Ehsan 24+4reb+6ast, N.Khajezadeh 15+9reb+2ast, S.Amir 11+6reb+1ast, F.Aslani 10+6reb, H.Mehdi 9+5reb, M.Torabi 6+3reb+1ast
Tabiat: J.Stevens 34+1reb+3ast, A.Zangeneh 13+12reb+3ast, M.Gbinije 11+13reb, S.Davarpanah 9+6reb+3ast, A.Akbari Hasan 3+9reb, J.Ashkan 3+1ast

Foolad - Rafsanjan 79-76

There was a minor upset in Bandar Abbass where 9th ranked Rafsanjan (5-10) was edged by eleventh ranked Foolad (2-13) 79-76 on Thursday. It was a great evening for Montenegrin center Marko Perovic (204-1992, agency: PEPI SPORT) who led his team to a victory scoring 25 points and 6 rebounds. The former international power forward Sarem Jafari (207-2005, agency: BIG) helped adding 8 points and 10 rebounds. Foolad's coach Reza Hengampour allowed to play the deep bench players in such tough game. The best for the losing side was Croatian swingman Fran Pilepic (194-1989) with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists and American power forward Jervon Pressley (203-1992, college: Hampton) scored 20 points and 8 rebounds. Newly promoted Foolad maintains eleventh place with 2-13 record. Loser Rafsanjan keeps the ninth position with ten games lost. Foolad will meet league's second-placed Zob Ahan in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Rafsanjan will play against Averta (#7) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Foolad: M.Perovic 25+6reb+2ast, G.Omid 10+3reb, S.Pooria 10+2reb+1ast, J.Sarem 8+10reb+3ast, H.Eshagh 7+1reb+1ast, J.McCormick 7+2reb+3ast
Rafsanjan: F.Pilepic 21+5reb+4ast, J.Pressley 20+8reb+1ast, T.Mohamadreza 14+8reb+3ast, V.Ali 8+8reb+4ast, Y.Pouya 7+6reb+4ast, A.Amin 3+4reb+1ast