Round 21 (Regular Season): Astana lose to Al Riyadi

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

The biggest surprise took place in Beirut where host Lebanese Al Riyadi (5-2) crushed league's leader Kazakhstan Astana (5-2) 106-57 on Wednesday evening. It ended at the same time the five-game winning streak of Astana. It was a key game for the top position in the league. Al Riyadi dominated down low during the game scoring 70 of its points in the paint compared to Astana's 26 and made 21-of-27 free shots (77.8 percent) during the game. They outrebounded Astana 44-28 including a 33-22 advantage in defensive rebounds. Al Riyadi looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. The best player for the winners was American forward Perrin Buford (198-1994, college: MTSU, agency: Pensack Sports) who scored 22 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Forward Hayk Gyokchyan (203-1990, college: F&M) chipped in 20 points and 10 rebounds. At the other side the best for losing team was center Robert Pan (202-1995) who recorded 15 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 Lebanese champion keeps a position of league leader, which they share with defeated Astana. Astana will play next round against Al Wahda trying to make it back to the top of the standings. Al Riyadi will try to continue on its current victory against third ranked Gorgan at home.
Very important is a road loss of third ranked Iranian Gorgan (3-3) against fifth ranked Syrian Al Wahda (1-6) on Thursday night. Visiting Gorgan was defeated by Al Wahda in a tough game in Damascus 92-101. It was a good game for Croatian Domagoj Proleta (207-1998) who led his team to a victory with 30 points and 7 rebounds. James Justice contributed with 23 points for the winners. Piter Girgurian answered with 25 points for Gorgan. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Defending Syrian champion maintains fifth place with 1-6 record. It was Gorgan's third loss in a row. Defending Iranian champion keeps the third position with three games lost. Al Wahda will play against league's second-placed Astana in Nur-Sultan in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Gorgan will play on the road against the league's leader Al Riyadi in Beirut and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

In the last game of round 21 Al Wahda was defeated by Sagesse in Beirut 105-92.
The best stats of 21th round was 34 points (!!!) and 10 rebounds by Mohamad Haidar of Sagesse.



Al Wahda - Gorgan 101-92

Very important is a road loss of third ranked Iranian Gorgan (3-3) against fifth ranked Syrian Al Wahda (1-6) on Thursday night. Visiting Gorgan was defeated by Al Wahda in a tough game in Damascus 92-101. Al Wahda dominated down low during the game scoring 58 of its points in the paint compared to Gorgan's 38 and made 25-of-31 charity shots (80.6 percent) during the game. Al Wahda players were unselfish on offense dishing 21 assists. It was a good game for Croatian Domagoj Proleta (207-1998) who led his team to a victory with 30 points and 7 rebounds. American James Justice (178-1989, college: UT Southern) contributed with 23 points for the winners. Piter Girgurian answered with 25 points and American forward Jordan Hamilton (201-1990, college: Texas) added 14 points and 10 rebounds in the effort for Gorgan. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Defending Syrian champion maintains fifth place with 1-6 record. It was Gorgan's third loss in a row. Defending Iranian champion keeps the third position with three games lost. Al Wahda will play against league's second-placed Astana in Nur-Sultan in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Gorgan will play on the road against the league's leader Al Riyadi in Beirut and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Al Wahda: P.Domagoj 30+7reb+2ast, J.Falando 24+3reb+1ast, J.James 23+3reb+3ast, A.Yousef 7+5reb+1ast, M.Atli 6+2reb, C.Maran 4+8reb+4ast
Gorgan: G.Piter 25+1reb+3ast, A.Yazarloo 20+3reb+4ast, J.Hamilton 14+10reb+3ast, S.Mobin 8+1reb+8ast, A.Khashayar 7+2reb+3ast, M.Hassanzadeh 6+8reb+3ast

Al Riyadi - Astana 106-57

The biggest surprise took place in Beirut where host Lebanese Al Riyadi (5-2) crushed league's leader Kazakhstan Astana (5-2) 106-57 on Wednesday evening. It ended at the same time the five-game winning streak of Astana. It was a key game for the top position in the league. Al Riyadi dominated down low during the game scoring 70 of its points in the paint compared to Astana's 26 and made 21-of-27 free shots (77.8 percent) during the game. They outrebounded Astana 44-28 including a 33-22 advantage in defensive rebounds. Al Riyadi looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. The best player for the winners was American forward Perrin Buford (198-1994, college: MTSU, agency: Pensack Sports) who scored 22 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Forward Hayk Gyokchyan (203-1990, college: F&M) chipped in a double-double by scoring 20 points and 10 rebounds. Five Al Riyadi players scored in double figures. At the other side the best for losing team was center Robert Pan (202-1995) who recorded 15 points and American point guard EJ Day (180-1999, college: Lasell) added 6 points and 6 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 Lebanese champion keeps a position of league leader, which they share with defeated Astana. Astana will play next round against Al Wahda trying to make it back to the top of the standings. Al Riyadi will try to continue on its current victory against third ranked Gorgan at home.
Top scorers:
Al Riyadi: O.Nuni 26+5reb+1ast, B.Perrin 22+8reb+8ast, G.Hayk 20+10reb+2ast, I.Ahmad 12+11reb+2ast, S.Amir 11+5ast, M.Ali 5+2reb+3ast
Astana: R.Pan 15+3reb+1ast, M.Askar 11+2reb+1ast, C.Vadim 6+2reb+2ast, E.Day 6+6reb+3ast, A.Juskevicius 5+4reb+4ast, A.Ruslan 5+3reb+1ast

Sagesse - Al Wahda 105-92

The game between closely ranked teams ended with 5th ranked Syrian Al Wahda's (1-6) road loss to fourth ranked Lebanese Sagesse (3-4) 92-105. Sagesse players were unselfish on offense dishing 31 assists. It was a good game for power forward Mohamad Haidar (203-1990, college: Michigan Tech) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 34 points (!!!) and 10 rebounds. American power forward Paris Bass (207-1995, college: Detroit) contributed with a double-double by scoring 23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals (went 7 for 7 at the free throw line) for the winners. American James Justice (178-1989, college: UT Southern) answered with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists and Croatian Domagoj Proleta (207-1998) added 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in the effort for Al Wahda. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Sagesse maintains fourth place with 3-4 record. Defending Syrian champion Al Wahda keeps the fifth position with six games lost. Sagesse will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Al Wahda will play at home against the league's second-placed Astana (#2) to get more than just one victory in their record.
Top scorers:
Sagesse: H.Ali 34+10reb+1ast, B.Paris 23+11reb+4ast, Y.Khayat 18+6reb, H.Walter 16+1reb+13ast, K.Jad 4+3ast, M.Khoueiry 4+2reb+3ast
Al Wahda: J.Justice 20+6reb+5ast, D.Proleta 14+6reb+4ast, Y.Abdullah 13+5reb+1ast, F.Jones 12+4reb, I.Nadim 11+1ast, A.Mohamad 8+7reb+7ast