After two magical nights of EuroLeague at Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai Basketball recorded two incredible victories against two Spanish giants.
Last Thursday (September 24), Real Madrid traded blows with Dubai Basketball in an engrossing battle at Coca-Cola Arena, which saw the UAE’s first professional club record a thrilling 78-77 victory.
On Tuesday, it was the turn of Barcelona, Madrid’s bitter rivals, to challenge Dubai Basketball.
Backed by their passionate fans on home turf, Dubai Basketball delivered another outstanding performance to clinch an impressive 94-87 win.
With two wins from their first two matches of the new EuroLeague season, Dubai Basketball are now on a roll, proving that the UAE club is ready to build on its historic ABA League triumph last season.
Against Barcelona, they displayed a great blend of attack and defence while showing incredible resilience.
Having trailed 25-23 at the end of the opening quarter, Dubai Basketball bounced back in style as they went into half-time with a 52-37 lead.
Barcelona staged a strong comeback in the third quarter to reduce the deficit, but the home team remained solid in the fourth to clinch an unforgettable win.
While it was a complete team performance, Mfiondu Kabengele enjoyed one of his finest nights in Dubai Basketball colours, scoring 21 points and grabbing six rebounds.
McKinley Wright and Dwayne Bacon also produced impressive performances, scoring 14 points each to help Dubai Basketball overcome the challenge of one of the biggest clubs in Europe.
Head coach Xavi Pascual was full of praise for his team and the home fans.
“First of all, I want to thank all the fans who were here at Coca-Cola Arena today. I think they saw a great game. At the end, it was difficult to win,” he said.
“I think we have to divide the game into two parts. For the first 28 minutes, we were leading by 20, but then Barcelona made a run and from there it became another game. Despite that, we were always leading and somehow controlling the score and the game, and we achieved an important win for us.”
But Pascual admitted that there are still areas in which his team can improve.
“We have to understand that the opponent also played and they have a lot of quality,” he said.
“We lost a little bit of concentration and energy, and there were some mistakes in both offence and defence.
“But this is part of the process. Sometimes it happens. At least, we kept our standards, did the basic things and won.”
Source: Khaleej Times