Gorgan punch ticket to BCL Asia with vengeful win over Kuwait Club

DOHA (Qatar) - Shahrdary Gorgan booked their ticket to the Basketball Champions League Asia (BCL Asia) after finishing third in the FIBA West Asia Super League Final 8 2024.

The Iranian side accomplished as much following a masterful 92-76 conquest of Kuwait Club in the Third-Place Game on Saturday evening at the Lusail Multipurpose Hall.

It couldn't be any sweeter for Coach Mostafa Hashemi's crew as they got back against the very same team that foiled their bid of sweeping Group B last Tuesday.

Now, they can turn their attention to the ongoing Iranian Super League Final before shifting all their focus to the prestigious BCL Asia scheduled on June 9-15 in Dubai, where they will be going up against some of the top teams in the continent.

Game heroes: Salar Monji played all 40 minutes and finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds, recording an efficiency of 33 to cop STEP AHEAD Player of the Game honors.

Sina Vahedi, on the other hand, fired 4 of the team's 10 triples on his way to 23 points, which he laced with 2 rebounds and 5 assists in the 34 minutes he played.

Will Cherry flirted with a triple-double as he tallied 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. Mobin Sheikhi chipped in 11 points, 9 of which came from beyond the arc.

Arsalan Kazemi did a little bit of everything in the 33 minutes he saw action and delivered 9 points, 20 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals for an EFF of 32.

Turning point: Gorgan were actually trailing early in the second quarter until Vahedi powered a 14-0 run to build a 38-28 lead with 6:14 to go, seizing control of the game for good as the opposition uncharacteristically could not garner any rhythm on both ends.

Things turned from bad to worse for the reigning two-time Gulf League champions as the back-to-back West Asia League finalists ran roughshod in the fourth quarter. They led by as many as 23 points, 88-65, behind a Navid Razaeifar layup with under four minutes left.

Stats don't lie: Gorgan dominated the boards, 53-31, outhustling Kuwait Club after losing the rebounding battle in their previous match, 41-43, that factored in the 77-85 result.

Saturday's win also snapped a two-game losing skid to Kuwait Club. They lost in their first meeting in the Final 8 inaugurals' Group Phase by way of an 85-95 decision in Dubai.

They said: "I'm proud of my players, of my teammates. I think they did a hell of a job. This is the real Gorgan team and I think this is how we should have played the first time we played them ... Just happy. Just happy for the Gorgan fans. I know they're excited. This is the first time that their team is qualifying for the BCL. Hopefully we get a good result there." - Arsalan Kazemi, Shahrdary Gorgan

"Not an easy situation for us to see a team that you beat before in a tournament in a decisive game. There's a lot of excuses we can make but I knew it was gonna be a tough game for that reason. They are a good team. We beat them before, and now we see them again. It's not the usual game where you're out and you play for nothing. It's for third place, and it's for qualifying for BCL. Of course, we're not happy with the way we lost. To sum it up, they overpowered us." - Peter Schomers, Head Coach, Kuwait Club

FIBA