ZOUK MIKAEL (Lebanon) - Amman United Club returned to their winning ways in the 2024/2025 FIBA WASL-West Asia League by beating Tabiat, 74-69, in the Second Round opener at the Stade Nouhad Naufal Tuesday.
The Jordanian Premier League outfit took the lead but lost it during the final frame, although the crew averted disaster from taking place on the way to ending a three-game losing skid - and keeping their hopes alive.
The last time that they won in the tourney was in the opening game of the First Round last March before entering the said harrowing stretch - including a loss against the defending Iran Basketball League champions.
A month later and they''d exact vengeance versus the same team that handed them a 79-64 beating, improving their win-loss record to 2-3 in the process as they dealt Tabiat their second defeat in five outings.
Game heroes: Hashem Abbas showed the way with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists as he bravely stepped up for a side that lost lead point guard Freddy Ibrahim due to an injury during the second quarter.
Ukrainian reinforcement Vladyslav Koreniuk impressed in his WASL debut, finishing with 15 points and 16 rebounds as Amman United found a solid - and bruising - addition to a frontcourt that could bolster their bid.
Amin Abu Hawwas supplied 14 points, while big man Jonathan Arledge chipped in 10 points - spiked by a pair of three-pointers - and 7 rebounds as four players finished in double figures in the victory.
Turning point: Perry Petty had already broken the 62-all deadlock with a split from the line to put Tabiat up entering the game's last three minutes but Fadi Qarmash was there to give themselves the lead back.
Abu Hawwas converted his own layup, and Abbas followed it up with a tough fadeaway jumper as the crew put together a crucial 6-0 run toward the 68-63 lead with 1:06 to go, never to relinquish it again.
Rasoul Mosafari tried to will the Iranian unit back to the ball game with a trey, 72-69, with 19.1 seconds left to play, but Ahmad Hamarsheh knocked down his free throws just moments later to ice the game.
Stats don't lie: Usually a potent offense, Tabiat only shot a little over 34-percent from the field and that definitely hurt their chances as Amman United shot way better, finishing with a 44.6-percent clip.
They said: "We are focusing game by game. We have put the First Round behind us and we look forward. Now we are focusing on tomorrow's game against the Iraqi team (Al Difaa Al Jawi). And, we're taking it step by step to reach our goal of going to the Final 8." - Abdallah Abuqoura, Head Coach, Amman United Club
"We worked hard defensively and offensively. All the guys did what they were supposed to do. But one thing that we didn't do a good job with was the turnovers. We turned the ball over a lot. But at the end of the game we came out on top. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't." - Hashem Abbas, Amman United Club
"Some players from the opposing team, we didn't predict that they took a lot of points - two off their bench players scored 27 points [in total]. We should've stopped them. In the last minutes, we got the game. But we gave up some shots again. They got control of the game, and they won." - Mehran Shahintab, Tabiat Basketball
"We have some experienced players, we have some really good import players, and especially we have an experienced coach here. We're gonna bounce back. Nothing's changed. It's one game. We have three more games ahead and we'll try to play better." - Arman Zangeneh, Tabiat Basketball
FIBA