Mahram rout Al Ittihad 102-65 in the second quarter final of the 2011 FIBA Asia Champions Cup
Playing at the Phil Sports Arena on Friday, Mahram of Iran, not only stamped their authority on Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad in the second quarterfinal of the 2011 FIBA Asia Champions Cup, but also unveiled the intensity of their desire to record a landmark third straight title. Six players from the Iranian team landed double figures on the night as the two times defending champions romped to a 102-65 victory over the Saudi’s to clinch the semifinal berth.
Samb Cheikh Tidian and Christopher Williams led the proceedings for Mahram and racked up 18 and 14 points respectively. Mahram’s bench players were given the opportunity to play more time on the court and they responded to the coach’s call to set the court ablaze in the final stretch.
Mahram’s coach Mehran Shahintab said after the game, “We have been having a little trouble at the start in all our games here. I think we took care of that today. Further, I wanted to give our bench players on the court, because most of them are National Team players too. This was the first opportunity to give them a chance. That way I am happy with the win,”
On the other hand, imports Darren Kelly and Vladislav Dragajlovic were able to put on some kind of a show for the Saudi’s. Kelly scored a game-high 24 points while Dragajlovic finished the game with 19 points. No other player from Al Ittihad’s line-up scored more than 7 points on the night.
Nenad Krazdic, Al Ittihad’s coach was disappointed with the team’s effort and said after the game, “I have nothing to say. We started off as underdogs and that early score left us gasping.”
Iranian team dominated right from the tip off, leaving no room for the opposition to gain any sort of momentum. The Iranians connected 51 percent shots from the field, buried 10 scorching blows from downtown and landed 18 free throws in the game. Mahram thrashed Al Ittihad 42-29 on the glass, out-assisted them 24-12, had four block as compared to none from the opposition and also beat them 18-8 in the second chance points
They sealed a massive 17 points advantage in the first quarter from where the deficit just kept on increasing for the Saudi Arabian team. Except for the third quarter, in which both teams scored 22 points apiece, the Saudi’s never even came close to matching the offensive might of the Iranians.
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