Dubai Basketball secured a second consecutive home victory this week by defeating Zalgiris Kaunas 95-89 at Coca-Cola Arena on Friday. The Lithuanian squad led 34-24 after the first quarter, but Dubai steadily closed the gap to 48-45 at halftime.
A dominant 16-0 run midway through the third quarter gave the hosts a 73-64 lead entering the final period. Zalgiris threatened late, closing to 90-87 with under a minute remaining, but clutch free throws from Dwayne Bacon and Mfiondu Kabengele sealed the win.
Kabengele led Dubai with 21 points and 10 rebounds, posting a solid double-double. Aleksa Avramovic added 16 points and six assists, while Filip Petrusev contributed 14 points and Bacon chipped in 12.
For Zalgiris, Azuolas Tubelis recorded a career-high 22 points and a performance index rating of 25. Sylvain Francisco added 15 points, Deividas Sirvydis 12, Arnas Butkevicius 11, and Moses Wright 10 in a losing effort.
Dubai improves to 5-6 on the season with the win, completing a perfect double-round week at home. Zalgiris falls to 7-4 as the Lithuanian team struggles to recover from an early deficit.
Dubai now prepares for a road test against Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens next Thursday. Zalgiris will face Real Madrid on the same day, seeking to bounce back after consecutive losses.
