Nigeria, as a nation, have had a rough go of the Basketball Africa League since its inception, and that trend continued in Senegal on Tuesday as the Kwara Falcons remained winless in a 78-74 loss to Mali’s Stade Malien.
In the first BAL edition in 2021, the Rivers Hoopers were Nigeria’s representatives, and they failed to reach the playoffs. In 2022 the Hoopers were disqualified by FIBA due to their government breaching interference rules.
Malien were probably the Falcons’ biggest chance to win a game in the Sahara Conference in Dakar, as the Mali team is also making their BAL debut and too came into the game on the back of an opening defeat.
The other teams in the conference include defending champions US Monastir, against whom a shock is not a betting person’s smart choice, and Rwanda giants REG who top the group.
Malien were led by Aliou Diarra on Tuesday, scoring 23 points and 14 rebounds, while Souleymane Berthe continued to be a highlight reel and added 20 points and three assists. Ten of his points came in the second half.
Falcons guard Jeremiah Mordi, who finished with eight points and a team-high of five assists, told media after the game: “They really hurt us in the first half on the boards. They had a pretty big inside presence.
“We used a sense of urgency in the fourth quarter. It was just a bit too late. If we had that same urgency after halftime or even to start the game we would be in a lot of better position to win this game.”
The Falcons’ next opponents are Monastir of Tunisia, and they have no time to recover as the game is on Wednesday. Mali have a bit more breathing room, facing Senegal’s AS Douanes on Friday.
In the other game of the day on Tuesday, REG, now two for two, defeated Ivory Coast’s ABC Fighters 80-73. Adonis Filer was the star for the Rwanda-based side, scoring 25 points as his side went on an unassailable 16-0 scoring run in the third quarter.
Dean Murray, REG coach, said after the game: “I think at the end of the game, they got really tired at the end. We were running the floor pretty well and we were putting pressure on, but give them (ABC) credit, because we didn’t really come to play in the beginning.
“We told them every team is going to get better every game to play out here. We’re going to get better; the other teams are going to get better. They really took it to us in the first half, way too much penetration.”
Source : ESPN
