Dubai Basketball delivered one of its most complete road performances of the season on Friday night, defeating EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 96-78 at Allianz Cloud.
The result moved the visitors to 14-14 in the EuroLeague standings and strengthened their position in the crowded race around the play-in line.
Dubai entered the night with just four road wins, but quickly set a physical tone that swung the game after halftime.
The contest was tight through the opening quarter, with Milan edging ahead 20-18 as neither side led by more than three points.
Giampaolo Ricci scored 11 points in a short burst across the first two periods to steady the hosts, while Dzanan Musa sparked Dubai late in the half.
The visitors took a 51-46 lead into the break after twice stretching the margin to eight points in the second quarter.
The game turned decisively in the opening minutes of the third quarter.
Mfiondu Kabengele scored Dubai’s first eight points out of halftime, combining a dunk, a three-pointer and a three-point play to ignite a 16-2 run.
Milan went more than three minutes without a basket, allowing the deficit to balloon to 61-46.
Filip Petrusev followed with 10 straight points of his own as the lead grew to 67-48, putting the outcome firmly under Dubai’s control.
The Italian side trimmed the margin to 73-59 by the end of the quarter, but never regained momentum.
Milan opened the fourth period with four quick points, only to see Dubai respond with three three-pointers that pushed the advantage to 86-68 with four minutes left.
The hosts would not get closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
Kabengele finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 9-of-12 from the field while anchoring Dubai’s interior dominance.
Petrusev added 15 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting night, while Bruno Caboclo scored 12 points without missing a field goal.
Musa contributed 13 points and four assists, and Dwayne Bacon chipped in 11 as Dubai shot 54.0 percent overall and 50.0 percent from three-point range.
For Milan, Marko Guduric led the way with 19 points, while Ricci and Zach LeDay scored 11 apiece.
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak and left the Italian club level with Dubai in the standings, though the visitors now hold the head-to-head tiebreaker after two wins.
Dubai next hosts LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne on Feb. 26, while Milan travels to face Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv on the same day.
