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Hiroshima Dragonflies Off to a Strong Start in Basketball Champions League Asia

The Hiroshima Dragonflies beat Indonesia's Pelita Jaya and South Korea's KCC Egis by a combined 47 points in Dubai before falling to Iran's Shahrdary Gorgan.

Published

5 months ago

June 12, 2024

Ed Odeven

Hiroshima Dragonflies guard Ryo Yamazaki shoots a jumper in a Basketball Champions League Asia game against Korean club KCC Egis on June 10, 2024, in Dubai. (FIBA.BASKETBALL)

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With back-to-back victories to open the group phase of the Basketball Champions League Asia, the Hiroshima Dragonflies qualified for the tournament's semifinals in Dubai.

The Dragonflies, who captured their first B.League title on May 28, took commanding leads into halftime in both games. Head coach Kyle Milling's squad led 48-29 after two quarters on Sunday, June 9 against Indonesia's Pelita Jaya and earned an 86-69 victory.

On Monday, June 10, the Dragonflies were back in action in the United Arab Emirates and raced out to a 54-32 advantage over the Korean Basketball League's KCC Egis by halftime. Hiroshima triumphed 107-77.

What was Milling's assessment of his team's performance in its second Group B match?

"The players were highly focused on the game," Milling told reporters. "We were able to move the ball well and shoot openly. The other team was a big, physical team, so we were able to play a physical game from the start. We were also able to fight with confidence from start to finish."

Hiroshima Dragonflies Fall to 2-1 in Final Group Phase Match

Hiroshima competed against Iran's Shahrdary Gorgan in the teams' final Group B group phase match on Tuesday night, June 11. The Dragonflies, who held a one-point lead at halftime, lost 94-81, falling to 2-1 in the group phase.

Backcourt mates Sina Vahedi and ex-NBA player Joe Young, who made a huge impact off the bench, combined for 57 points for the victors at Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall. Young had a game-high 34 points as Shahrdary Gorgan improved to 2-1.

*Shahrdary Gorgan's Joe Young runs the offense in a Basketball Champions League Asia game. (FIBA.BASKETBALL)*

Dwayne Evans led the Dragonflies with 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Kerry Blackshear Jr finished with 22 points, including 11-for-11 from the foul line. Ryo Yamazaki had 16 points.

Hiroshima was held to 8 of 31 on 3s.

After Tuesday's match, Milling said the game was a tale of two halves.

"It was a good effort in the first half," he said of his team's performance. "I think in the second half we ran out of a little gas, the third game in three days, [and] I'm proud of the effort the players did. But our shots weren't going in, in the second half, a little short, which sometimes could mean our legs weren't there."

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Author: Ed Odeven

Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.