BEIRUT (Lebanon) - It's only in recent years that Gorgan rose into prominence in the Iranian Basketball Super League (IBSL).

No doubt they would want to make waves in the entire region, too, and there's no better way to do so than in the West Asia Super League (WASL) Final 8.

HISTORY

Shahrdari Gorgan BC were established in 1969, and has since been involved in the professional basketball scene in the country.

After spending a few years in Division One, the club became one of the pioneering members of the IBSL in 1998, and has since become a fixture.

The club revamped their logo back in 2020. From the classic green and white, Gorgan went with a more modern-looking seal featuring black, red, and white.

PAST SUCCESS

Although the team has been in existence for decades, it wasn't until 2021 where Gorgan finally won a championship, beating perennial contenders Mahram Tehran, 3-1, in the best-of-5 Finals to conquer the Super League.

They finished the entire season with an overall record of 23-1. They suffered their only loss of that campaign in Game 2 of the title bout.

Gorgan would go back-to-back the following season by taking down fellow WASL campaigner ZobAhan Isfahan. They sustained their success in the 2023 competitions with a beatdown of Kalleh Mazandaran to complete a rare three-peat.

HOW DID THEY GET HERE?

Gorgan were the second team to reach the Final 8 after sweeping ZobAhan in the best-of-3 Semi-Finals of the WASL-West Asia League.

It was expected by fans and pundits, for they emerged as one of the favorites since earning the remaining direct-flight ticket to the West Asia Semis. They did so by clinching the top seed of Group B after beating Al Naft, 101-91.

The team of Coach Mehran Hatami will be heading into the June 9-17 competitions as the West Asia runners-up after bowing to Al Riyadi in the finale.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

The 1-2 punch of Behnam Yakhchali and Mohammad Jamshidi have been a major reason behind Gorgan's West Asia Final trip. The long-time teammates are two of the league's best scorers with 19.9 and 17.8 points, respectively.

But it's not just the star tandem that's brought the team to where it is now. There's Perry Petty, the man who helped greatly in the club's first-ever title run as his beyond-halfcourt shot forced overtime and enabled his side to win, 110-103, for the crown.

It's also worth noting that Petty gave it all in Game 2 of the West Asia Final with 29 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists, and that kind of effort, surely, will be seen once more as he's out to help his crew add another title to their trophy case.

Aside from that troika, there are more options Gorgan could defer to such as the frontcourt combination of Sajjad Pazrofteh and Antanas Udras, to name some.

FIBA