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TUNISIA TOPPLES IRAN FOR FIRST-EVER WORLD CUP VICTORY

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5 years ago

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Their first-ever FIBA Basketball World Cup win puts Tunisia in position to advance to the next round. After losing their previous six games in the 2010 edition by an average of 24 points, the North African side weathered a late surge by Iran to win 79-67.

The inside-outside game of Salah Mejri and a full team effort were too much for Iran in their second World Cup encounter. Iran had won 71-58 in 2010. Michael Roll and Makram Ben Romdhane both added 16 points and 5 assists. Omar Abada’s 12 and Mourad El Mabrouk’s 11 gave balance to the Tunisian attack.

Turning Point: Knotted at 15 with 4:50 to play in the first quarter, Tunisia scored nine straight in a 14-4 run to create a space that they were able to manage through the rest of the game. There was a bit of a scare when Iran cut the lead to just five points with 5:51 to play but El Mabrouk’s trey followed by an Abada fast break finish restored the order.

TCL Player of the Game: Salah Mejri was big inside and outside for the Eagles of Carthage with 22 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots. The  big man knocked down three of four three-pointers in the first quarter and went 5-of-9 for the game. Five of his boards were on the offensive end.

Stats Don’t Lie: Stats don’t lie. But they can deceive. Iran had a better shooting percentage, 46 to 42 percent, but they took seven less shots. Also, nine more threes made the difference for Tunisia, as they knocked down 13 compared to 4 by Iran.

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Bottom Line: Iran looked like the late collapse to Puerto Rico may have shaken their confidence more than they would like to admit. Regardless, at the end of the day, Tunisia were the better team.

They Said: “It’s the first win in the country’s history, so we were all very excited about this game especially after a strange game against Spain. We took the lessons of that game and took it to heart. Everybody was really excited to play. You could tell by our energy, which was fantastic. Everybody performed.” – Tunisia shooting guard Michael Roll

“Our defense created problems. Their shooters didn’t have space to shoot or to penetrate. They are strong inside but we forced them to not go inside. We also did well with rebounding. The game against Puerto Rico is probably the most important in Tunisian basketball history. Our team is ready. We will prepare well. Our players are fantastic in attitude and defense. We fight. We are going to play very hard.” – Tunisia head coach Mario Palma

“We gave up a lot of three-pointers and made turnovers. We had good games before we came here and that gave us hope. We thought we could qualify out of the group. We had bad luck against Puerto Rico and after that tough loss we came here to do a better job but we faced some strange things in this game – five three-pointers from Mejri. We couldn’t expect that.” – Iran guard Mohammad Jamshidi

“It was unpredictable shooting from Mejri. He was like a sixth player with his downtown shooting. In the first half we gave up rebounding to him. The first game against Puerto Rico affected us.”- Iran head coach Mehran Shahintab

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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God wins with Godwin Enakhena as MFM are crowned NBBF-Zenith Women’s Basketball Champions

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2 days ago

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October 16, 2024

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Dr. Daniel Olukoya and Godwin Enakhena

Godwin Enakhena, a multi-tasked journalist and sports administrator has expressed great happiness as one of his pet tasks has yielded fruits.

He is the man behind the scenes as the MFM Women’s basketball team again emerged as the NBBF-Zenith women’s Basketball League champions.

It is a back-to-back victory and the team will represent Nigeria at the West African zonal qualifiers for the continental championship. They are joined by runners-up, Customs for the Zone 3 competition holding in Liberia from  29 October.

The founder of Christian Ministry that owns the sports outfit, Dr Daniel Olukoya is excited about the feat of the club and has promised his continued support.

It is gathered that youth empowerment through sports is one of the clergyman’s 70-point youth repositioning agenda.

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He’s happy that his support has taken the girls out of the streets and got them involved in profitable ventures.

Enakhena narrates the hidden story of the MFM Women’s Basketball Club. “When I birthed this dream about six years ago, it was to key into the vision of MFM General Overseer’s 70-point youth repositioning agenda.

“He spends millions of naira on 70 different projects for the youths and sports happens to be one.

“From free tuition to free accommodation and other empowerment programmes etc. “

“As my name implies, (Godwin), I like to win always because I give anything I do my all, and I mean my very best and I leave the rest to God.

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“I thank Dr Olukoya and his wife for this, the players who are the most important persons, the coaches and other backroom staff, my colleagues in the media for your support. I won’t forget all my well-wishers. Power to the Girl-Child. God bless you all.”

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Nigeria Defence Chief’s Basketball Championship aims at civilian- military cooperation

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4 weeks ago

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September 23, 2024

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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.

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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.

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Angola’s Petro De Luanda Wins 2024 Basketball Africa League Championship

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5 months ago

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June 2, 2024

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2024 Basketball Africa League (BAL) Champion Petro de Luanda (Angola) (Credit: BAL/Getty Images)

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.

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