Ferroviario de Maputo book Basketball Africa League Second Round Qualifiers slot

JOHANNESBURG (South Africa) - Mozambican giants Ferroviario de Maputo recorded their fourth straight victory at the ongoing Group E Basketball Africa League Qualifying Tournament to book a well-deserved ticket to the Second Round. 

Spaniard Alvaro Calvo Masa was in fine form scoring 22 points and picked 13 rebounds for his fourth double double of the competition to inspire Ferroviario to victory over the University of Zambia Pacers 84-69. 

Ferroviario are unbeaten in four games

This matchup was billed to be intriguing as both sides were unbeaten in three games and indeed the Pacers lived up to expectations when they stayed within range even though they had a six-point deficit at the half time break 41-35. 

Ferroviario were too strong in the third quarter scoring 25 points while limiting the Pacers to just 12 and even though the latter attempted a late comeback in the last quarter to outscore Ferroviario 22-18, it was too late for them to savor anything. 

The Mozambican side joins Group D winners Patriots of Rwanda and runners up City Oilers from Uganda as well as Group C champions FAP from Cameroon and runners up Manga of Gabon as the five sides that have automatically booked slots to the Second Round. 

Meanwhile, Mercenaries from Zimbabwe picked their first win at the tournament when they surprised hosts Jozi Nuggets 66-63 thanks to an incredible display of team work, discipline especially on defense and relentlessness. 

Marcel Tawanda Chitsinde scored 17 points for the Mercenaries

The Mercenaries caught the hosts off guard when they led 21-8 at the end of the first quarter but the home crowd went on to rally the Jozi Nuggets and that energy helped them score 26 points in the second period while limiting their opponents to 18. 

The hosts dug deep to come back in the second half but the damage had been done in the first quarter as the Mercenaries held on to register a shock victory at the Wembley Indoor Sports Complex. 

In the other game of the day, the Dolphins of Botswana also picked their first win of the competition after seeing off the Lions from Namibia 93-88 in a highly scoring and heavily intriguing game full of twists and turns. 

Barrows Ofentse scored an impressive 25 points and six rebounds as his teammate Emmanuel Ramoshebi added a double double with 17 points and 10 rebounds to guide the Dolphins to a victory they will forever cherish. 

They came into this tie as the outright underdogs but their confidence saw them throw everything they had onto the court to march away with a well-earned win.  

This tie was as physical as it can get

One more automatic slot is up for grabs ahead of Sunday's games with the Pacers considered favorites to clinch the all-important victory when they take on the Lions. 

FIBA