CHENZHOU (FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2017) - Petrochimi became the first team to make it to the Semi-Finals of the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2017 after they trounced Taipei Dacin Tigers, 97-80.

Dacin were able to hang with the Iranians for one whole half before Petrochimi turned up the jets in the second half to break the game open and cruise to the victory. Coach Mehran Shahintab's wards dominated in the paint again, outrebounding Dacin, 59-34, and outscoring them around the basket, 56-24.

The frontline duo of Arsalan Kazemi and Meisam Mirzaei were unstoppable in this encounter. They had a giant task to slow down Dacin's hulking center Sim Bhullar, but both Kazemi and Mirzaei were up to the challenge. Kazemi had an all-around like of 14 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals, while Mirzaei impressed with 11 points and 11 boards. Willie Warren's 31-point explosion also helped push Petrochimi into the next round.

It was the worst time for Bhullar to have his least offensively potent game. The 2.23m slotman was allowed to have just 2 field goal attempts, finishing with 6 points to go along with 9 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Guards Wang Tzu-Kang and Huang Jhen led the way for the Taipei quintet with a combined 25 points.

Petrochimi next face the winner between Al Riyadi and Mono Vampire, while the loser of that matchup will play Dacin in the classification round.

FIBA