Superleague Round 19 (Regular Season): Mahram beat Zob Ahan by one after a very close game

The games at this stage are more interesting as they can be crucial for the final standings in Regular Season. Despite we already know who is stronger and who is weaker, there may be still last minute surprises and upsets. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most exciting game of round 19 in the Superleague took place in Tehran. This derby game ended with only one-point defeat on the road of much higher ranked Zob Ahan (15-4) to fifth ranked Mahram (12-7) 80-79 on Monday evening. Mahram forced 22 Zob Ahan turnovers. 25 personal fouls committed by Zob Ahan helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Worth to mention a great performance of the former international Mohammad Jamshidi (199-1991, agency: BIG) who helped to win the game recording 30 points. American-Guinea-Bissau point guard Parrish Petty (185-1988, college: UTRGV) contributed with 20 points and 5 steals for the winners. International Rasoul Mozafari (188-1994) answered with 36 points (!!!) and 5 assists (made all of his twelve free throws !!!) for Zob Ahan. Zob Ahan's coach Mehran Hatami rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Mahram moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Naft Abadan. Zob Ahan at the other side keeps the second position with four games lost. Mahram is looking forward to face Naft Abadan (#5) at home in the next round. Zob Ahan will play against Tabiat and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Superleague top team - Gorgan (17-2) added another victory to their record. This time they beat tenth ranked Rafsanjan (5-13) 82-74. It was a great evening for international point guard Sina Vahedi (185-2001) who led his team to a victory scoring 28 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Will Cherry helped adding 14 points and 5 assists. Gorgan's coach Mostafa Hashemi allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. At the losing side Croatian swingman Fran Pilepic (194-1989) responded with 31 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Defending champion maintains first place with 17-2 record. Rafsanjan lost fifth consecutive game. They keep the tenth position with 13 games lost. Gorgan will play against Foolad (#11) in Bandar Abbass in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Rafsanjan will play on the road against Kerman and hopes to get back on the winning track.
The game in was also quite interesting. Third ranked Tabiat (13-6) played at the court of 8th ranked Averta (8-10). Tabiat managed to secure a 8-point victory 94-86 on Monday. It was an exceptional evening for Jordan Stevens who led the winners and scored 33 points (!!!) and 6 assists. Jeroen van der List came up with 22 points and 8 rebounds for Averta in the defeat. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Tabiat have a solid series of four victories in a row. Newly promoted Tabiat maintains third place with 13-6 record having four points less than leader Gorgan. Averta lost third consecutive game. Averta at the other side, also newcomer in the league, keeps the eighth position with ten games lost. Tabiat will meet league's second-placed Zob Ahan in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Averta will play against Limondis (#9) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

Other games in round 19 were not that significant. Kalleh was beaten by Naft Abadan on the road 89-76. Bottom-ranked Raad lost to Kerman on its own court 75-79. Limondis unfortunately lost to Foolad in Bandar Abbass 80-90.
The most impressive performance of 19th round was 33 points (!!!) by JVon McCormick of Foolad.



Rafsanjan - Gorgan 74-82

Superleague top team - Gorgan (17-2) added another victory to their record. This time they beat tenth ranked Rafsanjan (5-13) 82-74. Gorgan made 17-of-22 charity shots (77.3 percent) during the game. They also forced 22 Rafsanjan turnovers. Gorgan brought some defensive toughness making 7 blocks. It was a great evening for international point guard Sina Vahedi (185-2001) who led his team to a victory scoring 28 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals (made all of his nine free throws !!!). American point guard Will Cherry (185-1991, college: Montana) helped adding 14 points and 5 assists. Gorgan's coach Mostafa Hashemi allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. At the losing side Croatian swingman Fran Pilepic (194-1989) responded with 31 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists and American power forward Jervon Pressley (203-1992, college: Hampton) scored 20 points and 8 rebounds (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field). Defending champion maintains first place with 17-2 record. Rafsanjan lost fifth consecutive game. They keep the tenth position with 13 games lost. Gorgan will play against Foolad (#11) in Bandar Abbass in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Rafsanjan will play on the road against Kerman and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Gorgan: V.Sina 28+5reb+5ast, W.Cherry 14+3reb+5ast, N.Pelle 9+6reb, Y.Mohammad 8+6reb, A.Gholizadeh 7+3reb, S.Monji 5+3reb
Rafsanjan: F.Pilepic 31+8reb+4ast, J.Pressley 20+8reb, S.Ali 10+4reb+5ast, V.Ali 6+5reb+4ast, A.Mohamad 4+3reb, A.Meysam 3+1ast

Naft Abadan - Kalleh 89-76

No shocking result in a game when fifth ranked Naft Abadan (12-7) beat at home 7th ranked Kalleh (9-10) 89-76 on Sunday. Naft Abadan dominated down low during the game scoring 48 of its points in the paint compared to Kalleh's 28. They outrebounded Kalleh 58-33 including a 19-7 advantage in offensive rebounds. It was an exceptional evening for the former international guard Ehsan Dalirzahan (186-2000) who led the winners and scored 29 points and 5 rebounds. Mehdi Hasanzadeh accounted for 15 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists for the winning side. Four Naft Abadan players scored in double figures. The former international center Meisam Mirzaei (209-1992) came up with a double-double by scoring 16 points and 12 rebounds (made all of his nine free throws !!!) and American point guard Patrick Rembert (185-1990, college: UC Irvine, agency: Archie Sports) added 21 points respectively for Kalleh in the defeat. Kalleh's coach tested eleven players, but that didn't help to avoid defeat in this game. Naft Abadan moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Mahram. Newly promoted Kalleh keeps the seventh position with ten games lost. Naft Abadan will meet Mahram (#4) in the next round. Kalleh will play against Raad and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Naft Abadan: D.Ehsan 29+5reb+1ast, N.Khajezadeh 23+7reb, H.Mehdi 15+16reb+4ast, H.Haddadi 14+15reb+3ast, M.Torabi 4+5reb+1ast, F.Aslani 2+6reb+6ast
Kalleh: P.Rembert 21+3reb+3ast, M.Mirzaei 16+12reb+2ast, A.Matin 14+2reb, Y.Nosrat 8+3reb, A.Jalal 7+4reb+1ast, Y.Amirhossein 6+1reb+1ast

Averta - Tabiat 86-94

The game in was also quite interesting. Third ranked Tabiat (13-6) played at the court of 8th ranked Averta (8-10). Tabiat managed to secure a 8-point victory 94-86 on Monday. It was an exceptional evening for American point guard Jordan Stevens (182-1994, college: Midwestern St.) who led the winners and scored 33 points (!!!) and 6 assists. The former international swingman Saeid Davarpanah (190-1987, agency: Interperformances) accounted for 20 points and 5 rebounds for the winning side. Dutch power forward Jeroen van der List (213-1989, college: Indian Hills, agency: BIG) came up with 22 points and 8 rebounds and the former international Majid Rahimian added 15 points and 7 rebounds respectively for Averta in the defeat. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Tabiat have a solid series of four victories in a row. Newly promoted Tabiat maintains third place with 13-6 record having four points less than leader Gorgan. Averta lost third consecutive game. Averta at the other side, also newcomer in the league, keeps the eighth position with ten games lost. Tabiat will meet league's second-placed Zob Ahan in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Averta will play against Limondis (#9) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Tabiat: J.Stevens 33+3reb+6ast, S.Davarpanah 20+5reb+2ast, A.Zangeneh 11+3reb+2ast, M.Gbinije 10+5reb+4ast, A.Akbari Hasan 8+7reb+2ast, S.Majid 6+2reb
Averta: J.van der List 22+8reb+3ast, M.Yazdanpanah 18+2reb, D.Jean 17+4reb+1ast, R.Majid 15+7reb+3ast, F.Nima 7+3reb, A.Najafi 3+2reb+1ast

Mahram - Zob Ahan 80-79

The most exciting game of round 19 in the Superleague took place in Tehran. This derby game ended with only one-point defeat on the road of much higher ranked Zob Ahan (15-4) to fifth ranked Mahram (12-7) 80-79 on Monday evening. Mahram forced 22 Zob Ahan turnovers. 25 personal fouls committed by Zob Ahan helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Worth to mention a great performance of the former international Mohammad Jamshidi (199-1991, agency: BIG) who helped to win the game recording 30 points. American-Guinea-Bissau point guard Parrish Petty (185-1988, college: UTRGV) contributed with 20 points and 5 steals for the winners. Petty is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. International Rasoul Mozafari (188-1994) answered with 36 points (!!!) and 5 assists (made all of his twelve free throws !!!) and the former international Hossien Makarian (195-2001) added 10 points and 9 rebounds in the effort for Zob Ahan. Zob Ahan's coach Mehran Hatami rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Mahram moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Naft Abadan. Zob Ahan at the other side keeps the second position with four games lost. Mahram is looking forward to face Naft Abadan (#5) at home in the next round. Zob Ahan will play against Tabiat and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Mahram: M.Jamshidi 30+4reb+2ast, P.Petty 20+3reb+2ast, S.Pazrofteh 16+3reb+2ast, S.Mashayekhi 7+3reb+2ast, N.Jankovic 4+9reb+2ast, G.Piter 2
Zob Ahan: R.Mozafari 36+3reb+5ast, J.Jones 13+4reb, M.Hossien 10+9reb+2ast, A.Davoudichegani 8+6ast, M.Soleymani 3+2reb, A.Kardoust 3+8reb+1ast

Raad - Kerman 75-79

Very expected game when 12th ranked Raad (1-18) lost to sixth ranked Kerman (11-8) in Mashhad 75-79 on Monday. Kerman forced 22 Raad turnovers. It was an exceptional evening for American point guard Corin Henry (183-1988, college: Tarleton St., agency: BIG) who led the winners and scored 19 points and 4 assists. Seyed Hoseini accounted for 20 points for the winning side. Hosein Shekari came up with 18 points and 9 rebounds and Mohsen Varankeshi added 16 points and 9 rebounds respectively for Raad in the defeat. Four Raad players scored in double figures. Raad's coach Jamal Seyfi tested ten players, but that didn't help to avoid defeat in this game. Kerman have a solid series of four victories in a row. They maintain sixth place with 11-8 record. Raad lost sixteenth consecutive game. They stay dead last with 18 lost games. Kerman will meet at home Rafsanjan (#10) in the next round. Raad will play against Kalleh in Amol and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Kerman: H.Seyed 20+3reb, C.Henry 19+1reb+4ast, A.Mehdi 13+3reb+3ast, S.Erfan 9+2reb, E.Sajjad 8+5reb+1ast, M.Mohsen 4+5reb
Raad: S.Hosein 18+9reb+1ast, V.Mohsen 16+9reb+1ast, E.Samadi 13+3reb+5ast, M.Ali 77 Amir 11+2reb+3ast, A.Bostanian 9+7reb+2ast, F.Pedram 8+3reb+2ast

Foolad - Limondis 90-80

There was a small surprise when eleventh ranked Foolad (4-15) won against 9th ranked Limondis (6-13) in Bandar Abbass 90-80 on Tuesday. Foolad made 19-of-24 free shots (79.2 percent) during the game. It was an exceptional evening for American point guard JVon McCormick (183-1997, college: Auburn) who led the winners and scored 33 points (!!!). Montenegrin center Marko Perovic (204-1992, agency: PEPI SPORT) accounted for 26 points and 7 rebounds for the winning side. Foolad's coach Reza Hengampour used a ten-player rotation and allowed the starting five to rest. American point guard Jalen Bradley (185-1993, college: ORU, agency: Haylett Sports) came up with 16 points and 4 assists and center Seyed Mortaza Jafari (178-2001) added 13 points respectively for Limondis in the defeat. Four Limondis players scored in double figures. Newly promoted Foolad maintains eleventh place with 4-15 record. Limondis at the other side, also newcomer in the league, keep the ninth position with 13 games lost. Foolad will meet league's leader Gorgan on the road in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Limondis will play against Averta (#8) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Foolad: J.McCormick 33+2reb+3ast, M.Perovic 26+7reb+1ast, M.Bahram 9+2reb+8ast, J.Sarem 9+7reb+1ast, D.Mohammadamin 7, G.Omid 6+9reb
Limondis: J.Bradley 16+4reb+4ast, S.Mortaza Jafari 13+4reb+3ast, K.Mohammadamin 13+5reb+2ast, M.Rezaei 11+3reb, V.Dalirzahan 9+6reb, M.Khaleghifard 8+5reb