Basketball
FRANCE BAG BACK-TO-BACK FIBA WORLD CUP THIRD-PLACE FINISH
France got the better of Australia, 67-59, in a see-saw encounter in the Third-Place Game at the Beijing Wukesong Arena to bag their second consecutive top three finish at the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Just like in their Semi-Finals loss to Argentina, the French slogged through another slow start in a Second Round rematch with Australia, but this time Les Bleus mounted a successful rally late in the third quarter to pull the rug from under Australia and repeat the success of Spain 2014.
As Rudy Gobert and Frank Ntilikina struggled, coach Vincent Collet turned to Nicolas Batum, Nando De Colo, Vincent Poirier and back-up point guard Andrew Albicy in their stirring comeback from as many as 15 points down in the second half.
De Colo led France with 19 points, while Evan Fournier added 16. Albicy stepped up in a big way, hitting three triples in the fourth quarter to boost France’s comeback effort. The Boomers were paced by 17 points from Joe Ingles.
Turning Point: Australia opened up what seemed like a commanding 15-point lead, 38-23, after Joe Ingles drove on Utah Jazz teammate Rudy Gobert and hit the ensuing bonus free throw, but an unsportsmanlike foul by Boomers guard Chris Goulding moments later killed the Aussie momentum and energized the French. Since Goulding’s critical foul, coach Collet’s side would then outscore Australia, 39-17, the rest of the way.
TCL Player of the Game: Nando De Colo came off the bench and provided a big spark for France, scoring 14 of his 19 points in the second half just when France looked on the verge of folding. Aside from scoring, De Colo also added 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 triples to his stat-line.
Stats Don’t Lie: The last time these two teams met, France lost the rebounding battle 30-23. This time around, Les Bleus did a much better job, outrebounding Australia, 38-36. In addition, when their starters sputtered, France’s second unit carried much of the scoring load. The French bench outscored their Boomers counterparts, 38-9, with all but two points coming from the trio of De Colo, Albicy and Poirier.
Bottom Line: For the second edition in a row, France finished on the World Cup podium, bringing home a medal and ending their campaign in China on a very strong note.
Australia finished top four at the World Cup for the first time, but as this is their second time losing in the third-place game after also falling short in Rio 2016, the Boomers have some soul-searching to do.
They Said: “Huge congratulations to France. It’s tough. We just entered the locker room, and you could hear a pin drop. To everyone in Australia who supported us, it all means the world to us. We gave it everything we had. To drop the last two games is never what you want, but we fought to the very end with pride and with passion. I couldn’t be prouder of the team we had and the guys beside us every day.” – Australia guard Mitch Creek
“The biggest hurt comes from having a group of guys who are so committed and passionate to play for the country because they want to rep Australia on the world stage and do something special. To see the hurt in those guys, that’s the bit that’s hard to overcome. There’s so many people involved in basketball in Australia who were hoping for a medal and you want to win for them, but unfortunately, we weren’t able to get that done.” – Australia head coach Andrej Lemanis
“For sure today was a great comeback, but we deserve where we are now. Australia played a real good game, but we never gave up and we stayed together. This made the difference, and this was really good for us.” – France guard Nando De Colo
“It’s something very special and important because we did it after a difficult first and second half. Many other teams could have given up, but we stayed focused and never gave up. Suddenly when it was looking done for us, we started to play much better on offense and defense. At half-time, we said that we just had to find some execution on offense. We started to move the ball better in the second half and that’s why we won this game.” – France head coach Vincent Collet
FIBA
Basketball
God wins with Godwin Enakhena as MFM are crowned NBBF-Zenith Women’s Basketball Champions
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.
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.
“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.”
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.
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