Shahrdary Gorgan book return trip to FIBA WASL-West Asia Semi-Finals

ALEPPO (Syria) - Shahrdary Gorgan booked the first ticket to the FIBA WASL-West Asia League Season 2 Semi-Finals following another masterful conquest of Al-Ittihad Ahli, 80-65, to remain unbeaten as well, Thursday night at the Al Hamadaniyeh Stadium.

The visiting side from Iran overcame a tepid first quarter by turning it up in the next two chapters, leaving the home team searching for answers the rest of the night as they became the first team this season to book a direct flight to the next phase.

Gorgan extended their perfect run to five to remain on top of Group A following the win that also sent them to their second straight West Asia League Semi-Finals appearance.

Game heroes: Norvel Pelle led the pack with 20 points and 8 rebounds, together with a steal and a block. Will Cherry produced 19 points, on top of 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 steals.

Sina Vahedi, meanwhile, came through with a full stat line as he finished with 17 points, spiked by three triples, alongside 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and a block.

STEP AHEAD Player of the Game: Pelle earned STEP AHEAD Player of the Game honors as he played a key role, along with Vahedi, for the crucial second-quarter turnaround.

Turning point: Gorgan entered the said frame trailing by five but the tandem spearheaded the crowd-silencing assault to turn the game in their favor. They outscored Al-Ittihad Ahli, 20-7, in the period to head into the halftime intermission in the driver's seat, 33-25.

Cherry would contribute hugely after the break, sparking an 11-0 start to the third quarter to establish a 44-25 advantage, setting up the romp. They would lead by as many as 28.

Group A

10/12 games played

		GAMES				STREAK	GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	Last 5	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	Shahrdary Gorgan	5	5	0	100		468	336	132	93.6	67.2	10
2	C.S. Sagesse	5	3	2	60.0		402	399	3	80.4	79.8	8
3	Al-Ittihad Ahli	5	2	3	40.0		360	416	-56	72	83.2	7
4	Al Naft	5	0	5	0		353	432	-79	70.6	86.4	5

Stats don't lie: Turnovers hurt Al-Ittihad Ahli the most as they committed a total of 20, which the opposition took advantage of by scoring 22 points off it.

They said: "At the beginning of the game, we had problems. But little by little we took control of the game and won." - Mostafa Hashemi, Head Coach, Shahrdary Gorgan.

"I like the atmosphere. I love the fans here. They're very intense. The team is very decent. We just came to play at the end of the day." - Norvel Pelle, Shahrdary Gorgan

"We started well because we didn't have many turnovers. We were aggressive on defense. After we made some turnovers, we were soft on defense, and they made many easy points especially inside." - Safouane Ferjani, Head Coach, Al-Ittihad Ahli

"We played today without pressure. We know we're facing the Iranian champions, with two very good imports, very good national team players, while we played only with one American. We know that it's going to be a very hard game." - Anthouny Bakar, Al-Ittihad Ahli

FIBA