Basketball
VIDEO: FIBA NEWS REPORT HAILS THE DOGGEDNESS OF NIGERIA’S D’TIGERS
Russia survived a tight battle with Nigeria, coming back from eight points down in the fourth quarter for a crucial 82-77 victory to start Group B play at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.
Mikhail Kulagin paced Russia with 16 points while TCL Player of the Game Andrey Vorontsevich scored 14 points, Andrey Zubkov added 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists and Vitaly Fridzon chipped in 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Josh Okogie was Nigeria’s leading scorer with 18 points while veteran star Ike Diogu was scoreless in 16 minutes of action.
Turning Point: Russia trailed 71-63 with under 6 minutes to go but used the full court press to charge back into the game with a 10-0 run to take the lead. Russia proved the better finishers down the stretch as they connected on 7 of 8 free throws in the final 32 seconds and benefited from an unsportsmanlike foul on Okogie with 10.6 seconds to play.
TCL Player of the Game: Vorontsevich saved his best for the final quarter, having totalled just 5 points in the first 35 minutes. Then he had 5 points in the big 10-0 spurt to change the momentum and added 4 more points in the final 2 minutes, finishing with 14 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds and 1 steal.
Stats Don’t Lie: Russia converted 11 of 27 three-pointers for 41 percent while Nigeria lagged behind at 7 of 21 for 33 percent. Russia also forced Nigeria into 21 turnovers.
Bottom Line: In a group with Argentina, this game was of major importance as both teams are looking to reach the Second Round. Russia managed to pick up the victory and hope to make it two straight on Monday September 2 against Korea. Nigeria’s task doesn’t get any easier as their next game is against Argentina on the same day.
They Said: “”For this kind of a game, (8-point lead) really was a big lead. But we went with the small lineup, we made two quick three-pointers and that helped us to endure over the last two minutes. And in the last two minutes we were better, more concentrated, smarter and had a little (bit of) luck, too.” – Russia head coach Sergey Bazarevich
“We talked about staying together, focus, not lose concentration, because this situation was really bad for your feelings, when you try to do something over and over again. One steal after the timeout, we were a little bit risky about that, and that was (coach Sergey Bazarevich’s) thing. For us, the main thing was to stay together, because we showed the basketball that we play. We play defense together, we help each other on defense, and we share the ball on offense. That was the main thing for us.” – Russia forward Andrey Vorontsevich
“We wanted to make them take contested two pointers, and we’ve been doing that successfully. Then, we allowed them three easy threes. When you allow a team like Russia three threes straight, they will punish you.” – Nigeria’s Josh Okogie about losing the 8-point lead in the final quarter
FIBA
Basketball
Nigeria Defence Chief’s Basketball Championship aims at civilian- military cooperation
In preparation for the Chief of Defence Staff Independence Day Basketball Championship, Brigadier General Aliyu Abdullahi (rtd), Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee, has highlighted the objectives of the event.
According to him, it is aimed at fostering Civil-Military cooperation and Inter-Agency collaboration.
The championship, set to take place from October 2 to October 6 at the Mo Arena in Abuja’s Zone 5, aims to engage Nigerian youths positively and contribute to enhancing security through a non-kinetic approach.
He emphasized the importance of the competition in providing a platform for Nigerian youths from across the country to participate in a constructive activity. He noted that the Chief of Defence Staff, General C.G. Musa OFR, a passionate basketball player himself, believes that organizing such competitions can help cultivate the interest of Nigerian youths in the sport.
Additionally, it offers them a legitimate means of livelihood and the opportunity to showcase their talents on the international stage, thereby bringing accolades to Nigeria.
The championship will feature 16 teams representing the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, promising an exciting display of basketball skills and teamwork.
Brigadier General Abdullahi expressed confidence that the competition will not only promote sportsmanship but also serve as a deterrent against negative behaviours such as crime, drug abuse, and other forms of delinquency among the youth.
Basketball
Angola’s Petro De Luanda Wins 2024 Basketball Africa League Championship
Petro de Luanda Becomes First Sub-Saharan African Team to Win BAL Finals (BAL.NBA.com); Libya’s Al Ahly Ly Forward Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. Named 2024 BAL Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year.
Angola’s Petro de Luanda this Sunday defeated Libya’s Al Ahly Ly 107-94 to win the 2024 Basketball Africa League (BAL) Championship, which took place at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda and reached fans in 214 countries and territories in 17 languages. Petro de Luanda, the 2022 BAL runner-up and one of two teams to have participated in all four BAL seasons, is the first sub-Saharan African team to win the BAL Finals after previous champions from Egypt and Tunisia.
Following the game, BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall and President of FIBA Africa Anibal Manave presented Petro de Luanda with the BAL Championship Trophy and Al Ahly Ly forward Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. with The Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy for winning the 2024 BAL Most Valuable Player Award and The Dikembe Mutombo Trophy for winning 2024 BAL Defensive Player of the Year.
Petro de Luanda went 5-2 during the Kalahari Conference group phase in Pretoria, South Africa, and the Playoffs, defeating Senegal’s AS Douanes and South Africa’s Cape Town Tigers in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, to advance to the Finals. Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers defeated the Cape Town Tigers 80-57 in the third-place game yesterday.
Lual-Acuil Jr. is also the 2024 BAL Scoring Champion and was named to the 2024 All-BAL First Team and All-BAL Defensive Team after leading Al Ahly Ly to a 5-4 record during the Nile Conference group phase in Cairo, Egypt, and the Playoffs, recording per game averages of 21.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks.
Several former NBA players attended games throughout the 2024 BAL Playoffs and Finals, including BAL Ambassadors and NBA Africa investors Luol Deng (South Sudan), Ian Mahinmi (France; ties to Benin) and Joakim Noah (grandfather from Cameroon); 2015 NBA champion Festus Ezeli (Nigeria), and New York Knicks President of G League Operations Pops Mensah-Bonsu (Ghana).
The BAL has also announced the 2024 Coach of the Year, Sportsmanship Award winner, All-BAL First Team, All-BAL Defensive Team, and Ubuntu Award winner. The voting panels varied for each award and were comprised of fans, coaches, team captains, media, broadcasters, and scouts.
2024 BAL Coach of the Year
Rivers Hoopers head coach Odaudu Ogoh led his team to a third-place finish with a 6-3 record during the Sahara Conference group phase in Dakar, Senegal, and the Playoffs.
2024 BAL Sportsmanship Award
Rivers Hoopers point guard Will Perry received The Manute Bol Trophy for exemplifying the ideals of sportsmanship and camaraderie. Perry was also named to the 2024 All-BAL First Team.
2024 All-BAL First TeamPositionPlayerTeamPoint GuardWill PerryRivers HoopersGuardSamkelo CeleCape Town TigersGuardChris CrawfordUS MonastirForwardJo Lual-Acuil Jr.Al Ahly LyForward / CenterAliou DiarraFUS Rabat Basketball
2024 All-BAL Defensive TeamPositionPlayerTeamPoint GuardSouleyman DiabateAl Ahly LyGuardSamkelo CeleCape Town TigersGuardAbdoulaye HarounaAS DouanesForwardJo Lual-Acuil Jr.Al Ahly LyForward / CenterAliou DiarraFUS Rabat Basketball
2024 BAL Ubuntu Award
AS Douanes guard and team captain Alkaly Ndour won the 2024 BAL Ubuntu Award in recognition of his ongoing efforts to use the game of basketball to positively impact the lives of youth in his native Senegal. Ndour is the founder of “Kayelennioufo” (which translates to “Let’s have fun”), a basketball tournament for nearly 250 amateur players in his home neighbourhood of Bopp in Dakar. Ndour was presented with the 2024 BAL Ubuntu Trophy during an on-court ceremony on May 25 in conjunction with Africa Day.
Basketball
Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers Advance to 2024 BAL Playoffs
Nigeria’ Rivers Hoopers beat Rwanda’s Armée Patriotique Rwandaise (APR) 78-71 in the first-ever BAL (https://BAL.NBA.com) double-overtime game and became the first Sahara Conference team to clinch a spot in the BAL Playoffs which are set to tip off at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda on May 24.
Five Hoopers players scored in double digits with Devine Eke (18 points, 18 rebounds) and Peter Olisemeka (17 points, 19 rebounds) dominating the boards as well. Will Perry added 11 points and seven assists in a low scoring affair in which both teams shot less than 40 percent from the floor.
Jean Jacques Nshobozwabyosenumukiza led APR with 16 points and five rebounds, while Dario Hunt finished with 15 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists. Going into today’s matchups, APR is currently second in the Sahara Conference and will look to secure a postseason berth when they take on Senegal’s AS Douanes (4th place with 2 wins and 3 losses) this evening.
In the second game of the day, the 2022 BAL champions Tunisia’s US Monastir kept their playoff hopes alive, defeating AS Douanes 75-69 and getting their second straight win in the competition. This is a turnaround for the Tunisian champions who started the Sahara Conference from three straight defeats, but now stand one win away from the postseason. Chris Crawford led Monastir with 18 points and seven assists, Oussama Marnaoui scored 16, and Firas Lahyani finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Abdoulaye Harouna led the Douanes with 22 points, with Adama Diakhite adding 14 points and nine rebounds.
APR, AS Douanes and US Monastir will compete for the last two playoff spots when the Sahara Conference concludes this afternoon – Rivers Hoopers will take on US Monastir at 2:30 p.m. GMT and AS Douanes will face APR at 5:30 p.m. GMT.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Basketball Africa League (BAL).
Basketball Africa League (BAL)
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