Basketball
COTE D’IVOIRE LOSES OPENING FIBA WORLD CUP MATCH
China survived a tougher-than-expected fight against Cote d’Ivoire in their FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 opener with their star trio Guo Ailun, Yi Jianlian and Zhou Qi doing the heavy-lifting in a 70-55 win in Group A.
Yi scored 17 of his team-high 19 points in the second half to go with 8 rebounds while TCL Player of the Game Guo tallied 17 points and Qi chipped in 12 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. The trio combined for 32 of the team’s 41 points in the second half. Guy Landry Edi picked up 10 points to lead Cote d’Ivoire.
Turning Point: With the lead at just 38-37 midway through the third quarter, China took control of the game with an 11-2 run as they scored four of their five baskets on layups. The surge extended out to 18-5 spanning the final two quarters and the gap was 56-42 with 7 minutes left. The Elephants could not get closer than 9 points the rest of the way.
TCL Player of the Game: Guo was strong throughout the game but really stepped up when China needed it most. He had two layups and an assist in the game deciding 11-2 run late in the third quarter. All told, he ended up with 17 points, 9 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.
Stats Don’t Lie: China’s defense frustrated Cote d’Ivoire to the tune of just 29 percent shooting from the field to go along with 21 turnovers – though the Africans did grab 19 offensive rebounds. But China made a white-hot 71 percent of their two-point shots in the second half.
Bottom Line: The home side China shook off first-game jitters and the pressure of expectations to get the victory. Li Nan’s team will next face Poland on Monday, September 1 with the winner taking sole possession of first place in the group with two wins in two games. Cote d’Ivoire on the same day will face Venezuela and the victor will get their first victory.
They said: “We put a lot of preparation for the World Cup group stage and tonight was a good effort overall. We got the win at home and obviously as you guys saw their intensity and physical style gave us some trouble. At the half we talked about our adjustments and made some defensive stops and got transition baskets. We think every game is a key game for us.” – China head coach Li Nan
“We’re very happy we got the win. We put a whole lot of preparation for this game especially Coach Li and the whole coaching staff. All the played did their job but the important thing is we played together tonight and everybody was happy for each other. We are happy to get our first victory but we need to focus on Poland now because as coach says one, it’s game at a time.” – China forward Zhai Xiaochuan
“We were efficient in the beginning and started well but in the end we started to move slow. We have to think positive and we need to go back to the drawing board and try to figure out how to win the next two games.” – Cote d’Ivoire head coach Paolo Povia
“We came up short today, we tried to be aggressive. We knew they had some big men and fast guards. We tried to play our aggressive game and focused on defense but they came up with a good defense of their own in the third quarter. The tournament is not over for us we still have two games we have to focus and stay positive and try to win the next two games.” – Cote d’Ivoire center Mohamed Kone
FIBA
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.
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.
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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