Kabengele gives Dubai enough to keep Barcelona at bay

Kevin Punter had brought Barcelona within eight when Mfiondu Kabengele stepped away from the basket and gave Dubai some room again. Taking a pass from Elie Okobo with a little over six and a half minutes left, he made his third three of the evening. A game Dubai had led by twenty was becoming uncomfortable, and the centre’s answer was useful precisely because Barcelona had started to believe there might be more in it for them.

Dubai eventually won by seven at Coca Cola Arena on September 29, to earn their second EuroLeague victory in five days. The result followed the opening win over Real Madrid and left Xavi Pascual with another encouraging performance to assess. He also had a finish that invited closer inspection. His players had done enough in the middle of the game to survive the mistakes that followed, but Barcelona stayed close enough to make the last few possessions matter.

Kabengele finished with 21 points and six rebounds, making eight of eleven shots, including all three of his attempts from beyond the arc. That accuracy allowed Dubai to look to him in different situations. His scoring near the basket was accompanied by shots that required Barcelona to account for him further out, and the final three interrupted a recovery that Punter was doing much to sustain. When the visitors applied pressure, Dubai still had a reliable scorer available.

The evening had begun quite differently. Barcelona opened a six point lead and reached the end of the first quarter two ahead. They had given themselves a reasonable start without establishing much distance. Dubai then scored twelve unanswered points at the beginning of the second period, changing a close contest through contributions from players who had started on the bench. Tornike Shengelia scored twice, Mamadi Diakite added points at the line and from distance, and Davion Mintz completed a three point play.

Thomas Walkup helped that run along with his passing. It was a stretch worth remembering when assessing the final scoring totals, because the advantage did not come only from those who would finish with the largest numbers. Dubai’s replacements had moved them from two behind to ten ahead before Barcelona scored again. The depth of the squad had produced a lead, giving the starters something to build on when they returned.

By half time, Dubai were fifteen clear. They had outscored Barcelona by seventeen in the second quarter, which would remain the only period they won. That alone explains much of the result. Barcelona made modest gains in the other three quarters but could never fully recover the ground lost during those ten minutes. For all the later tension, Dubai had created the margin that ultimately protected them before the interval.

The connections between the benches gave that passage an extra interest. Pascual had coached Barcelona in two spells, winning the EuroLeague with them in 2010. Aleksander Sekulic, now in charge of the visitors, had taken over Dubai late in the previous season and guided the club to its first ABA League title. Shengelia had also arrived from Barcelona during the summer. Familiarity supplied the background, although it was the quality of Dubai’s second quarter that made the difference on the court.

There was still time for the lead to grow. Jaron Blossomgame stretched it to twenty late in the third quarter, before Barcelona scored the final six points of the period. The home side went into the fourth fourteen ahead, a comfortable position that no longer looked quite as secure once Punter began finding the basket more regularly. He scored fourteen of his 25 points in the last quarter, keeping Barcelona involved when their earlier difficulties might otherwise have settled the game.

Dubai’s work at the free throw line helped them withstand that pressure. They converted 25 of 28 attempts, compared with Barcelona’s six from eight. Dwayne Bacon made all nine of his free throws and finished with fourteen points despite scoring only twice from the field. After leading the attack against Madrid, he had found another means of contributing when his shooting was less productive. It gave Dubai points on an evening when they could not afford to waste many of their late opportunities.

There were costs elsewhere. Dubai committed fifteen turnovers, ten more than Barcelona, and allowed thirteen offensive rebounds. They won the overall rebounding count but still gave the visitors opportunities to extend possessions. Those numbers help explain why a commanding lead became a game that needed finishing carefully. The second quarter had left room for errors without removing their consequences.

Punter was still trying to exploit that room with 24 seconds left, when his three reduced the deficit to five and prompted another Dubai timeout. Okobo then made both free throws, and Barcelona missed their next attempt from distance. Kabengele had also supplied important free throws in the closing stages. Dubai’s last points were practical ones, secured at the line after the easier part of the evening had passed.

McKinley Wright joined Bacon on fourteen points, Blossomgame added ten and Okobo contributed six assists. There was enough help around Kabengele to secure the win, just as there had been enough help from the bench to establish it. Dubai will want to keep more control of games in which they build such a lead. For now, they have two victories and a centre whose scoring remained valuable long after the second quarter had ended.