Superleague Round 18 (Regular Season): Naft Abadan is upset by Kerman

The Regular Season in Superleague is slowly approaching the end. But there may be still some important changes in the final standings in the last 4 rounds. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most important game in the last round took place in Kerman between third ranked Naft Abadan (11-7) and sixth ranked Kerman (10-8) on Monday night. Naft Abadan was defeated by Kerman on the road 83-67. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Naft Abadan. Kerman looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. The best player for the winners was American point guard Corin Henry (183-1988, college: Tarleton St., agency: BIG) who scored 30 points and 7 assists (went 8 for 8 at the free throw line). The former international center Mehdi Esmaeili (207-1984) chipped in 20 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Kerman's coach Mohammad Sistani used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the other side the best for losing team was the former international center Hamed Haddadi (218-1985, agency: BIG) who recorded a double-double by scoring 21 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists. Kerman have a solid three-game winning streak. They maintain sixth position with 10-8 record. Naft Abadan at the other side dropped to the fourth place with seven games lost. They share the position with Mahram. Kerman are looking forward to face bottom-ranked Raad (#12) in Mashhad in the next round where they are favorite. Naft Abadan will play at home against Kalleh (#7) and is hoping to win this game.
Leader Gorgan delivered the sixteenth victory. This time they crushed 12th ranked Raad (1-17) 97-67. It was a good game for American point guard Will Cherry (185-1991, college: Montana) who led his team to a victory with 22 points. Mobin Sheikhi contributed with 16 points for the winners. Pedram Fakhfori replied with 29 points and 8 rebounds for Raad. 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 maintains first position with 16-2 record. Raad lost fifteenth consecutive game. They stay dead last with 17 lost games. Gorgan will play against Rafsanjan (#10) on the road in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Raad will play against Kerman to get more than just one victory in their record.
The game in Amol was also quite interesting. Fifth ranked Mahram (11-7) played at the court of 7th ranked Kalleh (9-9). Mahram managed to secure a 5-point victory 87-82 on Monday. Mohammad Jamshidi scored 29 points to lead the charge for the winners. The best for the losing side was Meisam Mirzaei with a double-double by scoring 17 points, 19 rebounds and 4 assists. Mahram moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Naft Abadan. Newly promoted Kalleh keeps the seventh position with nine games lost. Mahram will meet at home league's second-placed Zob Ahan in the next round and it may be the game of the week. Kalleh will play against Naft Abadan (#5) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

Rest of the games of round 18 were quite predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
Averta was crushed by Zob Ahan in Esfahan 90-71. Limondis smashed Rafsanjan at home 98-77. Foolad lost to Tabiat on the opponent's court 77-82.
The best stats of 18th round was 24 points and 4 assists by Saeid Davarpanah of Tabiat.



Zob Ahan - Averta 90-71

There was no surprise in Esfahan where 8th ranked Averta (8-9) was crushed by second ranked Zob Ahan (15-3) 90-71 on Sunday. Zob Ahan dominated down low during the game scoring 54 of its points in the paint compared to Averta's 32. Zob Ahan looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists. American point guard Dwight Buycks (191-1989, college: Marquette) scored 25 points and 8 assists to lead the charge for the winners and the former international Hossien Makarian (195-2001) chipped in 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists (perfect from the field making all eight shots !!!) during the contest. The best for the losing side was the former international Majid Rahimian with 21 points and 7 rebounds and Dutch power forward Jeroen van der List (213-1989, college: Indian Hills, agency: BIG) scored 13 points and 9 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Zob Ahan maintains second position with 15-3 record behind leader Gorgan. Newly promoted Averta keeps the eighth place with nine games lost. Zob Ahan will meet Mahram (#4) in the next round. Averta will play against Tabiat (#3) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Zob Ahan: D.Buycks 25+4reb+8ast, M.Hossien 19+6reb+4ast, M.Reza Akbari 9+2reb+1ast, R.Mozafari 9+2reb+5ast, A.Kardoust 7+3reb, K.Ali 6+1reb+1ast
Averta: R.Majid 21+7reb+3ast, J.van der List 13+9reb+2ast, D.Jean 10+2reb+2ast, F.Nima 8+1reb+6ast, S.Amirmehdi 6+2reb, M.Yazdanpanah 6+3reb+1ast

Kalleh - Mahram 82-87

The game in Amol was also quite interesting. Fifth ranked Mahram (11-7) played at the court of 7th ranked Kalleh (9-9). Mahram managed to secure a 5-point victory 87-82 on Monday. The former international Mohammad Jamshidi (199-1991, agency: BIG) scored 29 points to lead the charge for the winners and American-Guinea-Bissau point guard Parrish Petty (185-1988, college: UTRGV) chipped in 17 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists during the contest. 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 center Meisam Mirzaei (209-1992) with a double-double by scoring 17 points, 19 rebounds and 4 assists and American point guard Patrick Rembert (185-1990, college: UC Irvine, agency: Archie Sports) scored 23 points and 8 assists (went 7 for 7 at the free throw line). Four Kalleh players scored in double figures. Mahram moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Naft Abadan. Newly promoted Kalleh keeps the seventh position with nine games lost. Mahram will meet at home league's second-placed Zob Ahan in the next round and it may be the game of the week. Kalleh will play against Naft Abadan (#5) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Mahram: M.Jamshidi 29+4reb+2ast, S.Mashayekhi 21+1ast, P.Petty 17+10reb+5ast, N.Jankovic 9+11reb+1ast, G.Piter 6+1reb, R.Mohammadmehdi 5+2reb+3ast
Kalleh: P.Rembert 23+4reb+8ast, M.Mirzaei 17+19reb+4ast, A.Matin 11+6reb+1ast, Y.Nosrat 10+2reb, Y.Amirhossein 8+2reb, A.Jalal 7+6reb+3ast

Limondis - Rafsanjan 98-77

We could consider it a predictable result in the game between close teams when tenth ranked Limondis (6-12) smashed at home 9th ranked Rafsanjan (5-12) 98-77 on Monday. Limondis outrebounded Rafsanjan 38-25 including a 18-7 advantage in offensive rebounds. Limondis looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists comparing to just 13 passes made by Rafsanjan's players. The former international Vahid Dalirzahan (199-1995) scored 28 points and 9 rebounds to lead the charge for the winners and Arash Sabeti chipped in 21 points and 7 assists during the contest. The best for the losing side was Ali Vernosafadarani with 23 points and guard Pouya Yakhchali (-1996) scored 18 points and 5 assists. Five Limondis and four Rafsanjan players scored in double figures. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Limondis moved-up to ninth place. Rafsanjan lost fourth consecutive game. They dropped to the tenth position with 12 games lost. Limondis will meet Foolad (#11) in the next round. Rafsanjan will play against the league's leader Gorgan where they are definitely not considered as a favorite in this game either.
Top scorers:
Limondis: V.Dalirzahan 28+9reb+3ast, A.Sabeti 21+3reb+7ast, V.Aliabadi 13+1ast, S.Mortaza Jafari 11+6reb+10ast, M.Rezaei 11+7reb, K.Mohammadamin 10+5reb+4ast
Rafsanjan: V.Ali 23+4reb, Y.Pouya 18+4reb+5ast, S.Ali 11+3reb+3ast, F.Pilepic 10+2reb+2ast, A.Mohamad 8+2reb+1ast, A.Meysam 2+2reb

Kerman - Naft Abadan 83-67

The most important game in the last round took place in Kerman between third ranked Naft Abadan (11-7) and sixth ranked Kerman (10-8) on Monday night. Naft Abadan was defeated by Kerman on the road 83-67. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Naft Abadan. Kerman looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. The best player for the winners was American point guard Corin Henry (183-1988, college: Tarleton St., agency: BIG) who scored 30 points and 7 assists (went 8 for 8 at the free throw line). The former international center Mehdi Esmaeili (207-1984) chipped in a double-double by scoring 20 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Four Kerman players scored in double figures. Kerman's coach Mohammad Sistani used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the other side the best for losing team was the former international center Hamed Haddadi (218-1985, agency: BIG) who recorded a double-double by scoring 21 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists and the former international forward Navid Khajezadeh (196-1996) added 14 points and 9 rebounds respectively. Kerman have a solid three-game winning streak. They maintain sixth position with 10-8 record. Naft Abadan at the other side dropped to the fourth place with seven games lost. They share the position with Mahram. Kerman are looking forward to face bottom-ranked Raad (#12) in Mashhad in the next round where they are favorite. Naft Abadan will play at home against Kalleh (#7) and is hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
Kerman: C.Henry 30+4reb+7ast, M.Esmaeili 20+10reb+6ast, A.Mehdi 14+4reb+6ast, S.Erfan 10+5reb+4ast, M.Amirhosein 4+5reb+1ast, E.Sajjad 2+2reb
Naft Abadan: H.Haddadi 21+12reb+4ast, N.Khajezadeh 14+9reb+2ast, S.Amir 12+3reb+1ast, H.Mehdi 7+8reb+2ast, D.Ehsan 4+1reb+3ast, A.Taherkhani 3+2reb

Gorgan - Raad 97-67

Leader Gorgan delivered the sixteenth victory. This time they crushed 12th ranked Raad (1-17) 97-67. Gorgan made 20-of-24 charity shots (83.3 percent) during the game. They also forced 24 Raad turnovers. It was a good game for American point guard Will Cherry (185-1991, college: Montana) who led his team to a victory with 22 points. The former international point guard Mobin Sheikhi (176-1997) contributed with 16 points for the winners. Four Gorgan players scored in double figures. Pedram Fakhfori replied with 29 points and 8 rebounds and Hosein Shekari added 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in the effort for Raad. 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 maintains first position with 16-2 record. Raad lost fifteenth consecutive game. They stay dead last with 17 lost games. Gorgan will play against Rafsanjan (#10) on the road in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Raad will play against Kerman to get more than just one victory in their record.
Top scorers:
Gorgan: W.Cherry 22+2reb+1ast, M.Sheikhi 16+3reb+3ast, A.Gholizadeh 14, K.Yasin 13+4reb, N.Pelle 8+5reb+1ast, I.Mani 7+1ast
Raad: F.Pedram 29+8reb, S.Hosein 17+6reb+4ast, V.Mohsen 6+2reb, A.Bostanian 5+3reb+1ast, M.Ali 77 Amir 5+6reb, J.Behnam 3+1reb

Tabiat - Foolad 82-77

Very expected game when 11th ranked Foolad (3-15) was defeated on the road by third ranked Tabiat (12-6) 82-77 on Tuesday. However just five-point win is not that big difference and the fans of host team counted on more convincing victory. The former international Arman Zangeneh (202-1993, agency: BIG) scored 19 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the charge for the winners and the former international swingman Saeid Davarpanah (190-1987, agency: Interperformances) chipped in 24 points and 4 assists during the contest. The best for the losing side was American point guard JVon McCormick (183-1997, college: Auburn) with 24 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists and Omid Gharinejhad scored 20 points. Tabiat have a solid three-game winning streak. Newly promoted Tabiat maintains third position with 12-6 record having four points less than leader Gorgan. Foolad at the other side, also newcomer in the league, keeps the eleventh place with 15 games lost. Tabiat will meet Averta (#8) in the next round where they are favorite. Foolad will play against Limondis and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Tabiat: S.Davarpanah 24+3reb+4ast, A.Zangeneh 19+7reb+5ast, M.Gbinije 14+11reb+2ast, A.Akbari Hasan 9+11reb+1ast, M.Shahrian 6+3reb+4ast, T.Morteza 3
Foolad: J.McCormick 24+5reb+4ast, G.Omid 20+4reb+1ast, M.Perovic 10+6reb+1ast, S.Pooria 6+2reb, M.Bahram 6+5reb+2ast, J.Sarem 5+5reb+2ast