Dubai Defeats Spartak to Remain Unbeaten at the Top of ABA League

11 hours ago

11 hours ago

Dubai Defeats Spartak to Remain Unbeaten at the Top of ABA League

2026-11-15T16:36+04:00

Dubai Basketball continued its unbeaten run in the ABA League with a convincing 93–75 victory over Spartak in Round 8, in front of the home crowd at Coca-Cola Arena on Sunday afternoon.

Dubai Basketball started the game with Wright, Musa, Bacon, Shengelia and Kabengele in the starting five.

Dubai came out strong on both ends of the floor, limiting Spartak's scoring opportunities from the opening minutes. Dwyane Bacon set the tone offensively with his accuracy from the field, while the team as a whole found its rhythm, particularly from beyond the three-point line. Thomas Walkup also made an excellent return to the court, recording four assists in his opening minutes. Dubai took control early, establishing a commanding 31–13 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The hosts maintained their momentum in the second quarter. While Bacon had led the scoring early on, it was Filip Petrušev who stepped up, quickly reaching double figures. Xavi Pascual's side continued to deliver at both ends of the court, combining efficient scoring with disciplined defence to take a 53–35 lead into halftime.

Dubai continued to manage its advantage in the third quarter, with Elie Okobo making a significant impact offensively. Coach Xavi Pascual continued to rotate his squad, giving players valuable minutes while maintaining the team's intensity and control of the game. Dubai headed into the final quarter with a 74–57 advantage.

In the fourth quarter, Dubai remained in control, continuing to find scoring opportunities from across the floor. Nemanja Dangubić made an important contribution, knocking down shots from beyond the arc and finishing the game in double figures. With contributions from across the roster, Dubai secured a comfortable 93–75 victory, having led from start to finish. Every player on the roster found the scoresheet, underlining another strong collective performance as Dubai maintained its unbeaten record at the top of the ABA League standings.

Elie Okobo and Filip Petrušev shared the team's top individual performances, both recording a Performance Index Rating (PIR) of 18. Okobo finished with 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and five steals, while Petrušev contributed 12 points, four rebounds and two assists.

Speaking at the post-game press conference, Head Coach Xavi Pascual reflected on the team's performance, "We're happy to be back in Dubai, with our fans and so many people at the Coca-Cola Arena. Spartak is a good team, they're having a great season, but we did well. We had a solid performance and we're satisfied. We had to approach the game at 100%, and today we did well to do so for 40 minutes. Starting from tomorrow, we'll start thinking about the next EuroLeague match against Efes. I'm happy with our reaction. We were coming off excellent performances, like in Bologna, then we didn't play well and gave too much away to Olympiacos, but today I'm happy with our performance."

Dubai Basketball will now turn its attention to another EuroLeague double-game week, beginning with Anadolu Efes at Coca-Cola Arena on Tuesday against Anadolu Efes before travelling to face Maccabi Tel Aviv two days later.