Dubai Basketball edge out Cedevita Olimpija by single point in thrilling ABA play-offs opener

UAE side seal 86-85 victory at Coca Cola Arena in Game 1 of best-of-three quarter-final clash

Dubai Basketball players celebrate their win over Cedevita Olimpija. Photo: Dubai Basketball

Dubai Basketball's magnificent debut season in the Adriatic Basketball Association (ABA) shows no sign of slowing down following a thrilling 86-85 play-off victory over Slovenia’s Cedevita Olimpija on Sunday.

In Game 1 of the best-of-three quarter-final tussle in front of a near sold-out crowd at the Coca Cola Arena, just one point separated the two teams with Dubai edging the sixth-seeded Slovenians.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, was present for the victory which stretched the home side's win streak to an impressive 14 matches.

Dubai now travel to the Stozice Arena in Ljubljana on Friday for Game 2 looking to maintain a run that helped end the regular season in third place with a 25-5 record.

They finished just one point behind table-topping Buducnost and Partizan in second with Cedevita Olimpija down in sixth.

The last time Jurica Golemac's team were beaten was against Cedevita Olimpija – also by one point – back in January making Sunday's victory even sweeter.

“This was a real play-off game. We had everything,” said Dubai's Slovenian head coach Golemac.

“We were down three times and kept coming back. We never gave up, despite all the problems and everything that happened.”

Dubai’s American guard Nate Mason set the tone with an early jump shot and went on to deliver a standout performance, finishing with 18 points and five assists.

He was named player of the match, sharing top-scorer honours with captain Klemen Prepelic.

“There was no moment where we thought we were out of this. It was all about passion and hard work,” Prepelic said.

“We’ve worked all season to earn this home-court advantage – and tonight we played with pride. The fans were incredible, and I think that energy pushed us. Everyone’s fighting for each other, and that passion showed on the floor.”

Next up for the UAE side is a trip to Slovenia where victory will seal a semi-final spot; lose and the series goes down to a deciding match in Dubai on May 20.

“We protected our home court, which we earned throughout the season,” added Golemac. “Now we’re going there to finish it.”

Before Sunday's game, Golemac had made clear that while reaching the play-offs despite only being together for 10 months can be considered an achievement, the team was hungry for more success.

“It's a new challenge for us now; we are not giving up, we are not satisfied with this, what we did until now. We are a very ambitious side,” said Golemac, a former coach at Cedevita Olimpija.

“We want to show everybody the results we have in the regular season … We can achieve a better one in the play-offs.

“We are healthy, we are full of ambitions, full of confidence, and with our fans behind us, we are ready to achieve great things.”