TEHRAN (Iran) - Shahrdary Gorgan hardly broke a sweat in keeping their mastery of Al Naft following a wire-to-wire 100-59 victory to secure a hat trick of wins in the FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL) Season 2, Wednesday night at the Azadi Basketball Hall.

The reigning, three-time Iran champions raced to a 26-11 lead at the end the first quarter and then pulled away for good in the ensuing period, eventually notching their third victory in as many outings to keep their hold of the Group A lead in the West Asia League firmly.

The home team also picked up their third win versus the powerhouse from Iraq, which they beat twice in their Group Phase encounters in the FIBA WASL inaugurals.

It was an emotional game for Gorgan, too, as they dedicated as much to former IRIBF President and FIBA Asia board member Mahmoud Mashhoun, who passed away recently. A minute of silence before the jump ball was observed in memory of the amiable executive.

Game heroes: Navid Rezaeifar led the way with 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, together with a steal and a pair of blocks in 19 minutes to finish with a full stat line.

Norvel Pelle delivered a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds, along with 2 blocks. Will Cherry and Sina Vahedi produced 12 points apiece, while winger Amir Gholizadeh chipped in 11 points as four of the five starters finished in double figures in the dominant conquest.

Arsalan Kazemi was the lone member of the starting unit that didn't tally a single point - he didn't even attempt - but was as impactful once again as he collected 10 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals.

STEP AHEAD Player of the Game: Pelle earned STEP AHEAD Player of the Game honors as he poured most of his efforts in the second half to help the crew finish strong.

Turning point: Gorgan opened the game with an 18-4 attack, but it wasn't until the second period that the blowout ensued. After Antwaine Wiggins pulled the visitors to within nine, Salar Monji quickly responded with a bucket of his own, which started a 9-0 run to restore order, 35-17.

Stats don't lie: The home team drilled 13 triples, five of which they made in the opening period alone, that enabled the squad to build a big lead and set the tone for the rout.

They said: "First of all, let me say peace be upon him (Mashhoun). It's a great sorrow for all Iranians and for basketball. He's a great man, and his personality. He was a real president of the federation, and I hope that the Iranian federation will follow his way for the future of basketball. His loss is a great sorrow for the society of basketball." - Mostafa Hashemi, Head Coach, Shahrdary Gorgan

"Let me thank Coach for playing all the players. I'm really happy that we won the game and all our players played and scored. I hope we continue this way and this rhythm to the championship." - Sina Vahedi. Shahrdary Gorgan

"This is my second game in WASL. I'm just looking to improve and do what I can to help this team improve in the rankings. It's alarming, but what can we do? We can just look to the next game and play hard. Practice hard. And see what happens." - Shane Gibson, Al Naft

FIBA