Despite record win, Cherry wants spotless Gorgan to remain even-keeled

TEHRAN (Iran) - Will Cherry was all smiles upon learning that Shahrdary Gorgan's dominant conquest of Al-Ittihad Ahli on Wednesday night found its place in FIBA WASL history books.

The reigning three-time Iran champions have set the most points by a team in a single game following a stupendous 121-70 home win at the Azadi Basketball Hall.

It's going good so far. But the biggest thing is we can't be complacent.

It broke the previous mark set by Al Riyadi in their 114-100 win over, coincidentally, Gorgan to clinch the inaugural West Asia League championship last May 17, 2023 before a packed crowd at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex in Zouk Mikael, Lebanon.

"We were making a lot of shots tonight," said the 32-year-old in the postgame presser. "We shot the ball really well from three. I think we shot the ball from three for almost 52 percent."

"When you shoot the ball like that, it's tough for another team to win the game," he added, as they made 17 three-pointers, now a West Asia League record—three clear of the old record set by Al Naft and Al Riyadi on separate occasions last season. "We are very happy that we made history."

Cherry himself played a major role in the record win. He finished with a game-high 30 points on a 10-of-17 shooting clip from the field, on top of 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals without committing a turnover in the 21 minutes and 33 seconds he saw action.

The well-travelled pro scored half of Gorgan's 34 points in the third quarter, where the team completely overwhelmed the visitors after setting up the rout in the period prior.

"Coach did a good job of making sure we were focused from the beginning," said Cherry. "We knew we were the better team, but teams like this—if you let them get confidence and hang around early, they could create a big problem. We didn't want that to happen."

"So, in the first half, we came out very aggressive, and we did the same in the third quarter and put the game away," added the native of Oakland, California.

The victory has enabled Gorgan to take the solo lead in Group A, but Cherry, as proud as he is particularly with the way they've won their games, refuses to be too confident.

"It's going good so far. But the biggest thing is we can't be complacent. We have to remember that we're still fighting for the gold, and we have to try to continue winning," he said.

Cherry warned that the journey will get tougher as the season goes on, and that's why he would want himself and the rest of Gorgan to stay grounded.

"A win is always great. We took sole control of Group A. It wasn't really talked about; what was just talked about was winning games," said the University of Montana product.

"It's great; it gives us very much confidence. But we also know that going forward, we're going to have much tougher matches, so we need to take the positives from this and the negatives from this and move on and get prepared for the next games," he added.

FIBA