Patriots, GNBC march into BAL Qualifiers Semi-Finals

KIGALI (Rwanda) - Hosts Patriots sealed their place in the Basketball Africa League Qualifiers Semi-Finals on Wednesday after beating University of Zambia Pacers 76-53 in front of their fans at Kigali Arena.

Shooting guard Kenneth Gasana put on a show with 24 points, eight rebounds and four assists in a stellar performance that saw the Patriots register their sixth straight win in the BAL Qualifiers to remain unbeaten. 

"WE STARTED A LITTLE SLOW AND I GIVE CREDIT TO THOSE GUYS. THEY CAME OUT AND THEIR ENERGY WAS REALLY GOOD AND OURS WASN'T. WE SETTLED IN THE SECOND AND THIRD QUARTERS AND DEFENSIVELY, WE WERE A LITTLE BETTER. "- Gasana

The Pacers set the ball rolling in the first quarter to lead 17-14 causing panic in the Patriots camp. The latter reacted well and got their groove back thanks to the fans who were at it from the beginning, making their presence felt.  

Carey Odhiambo's side switched their defense to a man-to-man setup troubling the Pacers guards that found themselves making unnecessary turnovers that the Patriots exploited to open up a 13-point lead at the half time break. 

Sedard Sagamba and center Adarius Pegues came off the bench to score 10 and nine points in that order in a game that showed the depth of this side with a different set of bench players coming to the party as opposed to those that starred in their opener on Tuesday. 

"We started a little slow and I give credit to those guys. They came out and their energy was really good and ours was not. We settled in the second and third quarters and defensively, we were a little better," Gasana explained after the game.  

Meanwhile, Madagascar champions GNBC booked their ticket to the Semi-Finals following a hard-earned 87-63 win over JKT from Tanzania. 

Four players scored in double digits led by Constant Fabrice Mandimbison who sunk 19 points and dominated the boards with 14 rebounds. His leadership on both ends of the court helped his teammates to stay in the game and come back strong in the second half. 

 Good defense, discipline on offense and a tale of a strong character showed the true values of the islanders as they worked hard for this victory.  

Elly Randriamampionona scored 20 points while Solonirina Ramarosata and Francis Ramanampamonjy Mory added 12 and 10 points respectively to get GNBC the much deserved victory - their second at this tournament. 

JKT point guard Baraka Athumani was at it again scoring 30 points with Hajji Mbegu contributing 10 points while Musa Muruga and Stephano Mshana managed to add nine points apiece. 

Three teams have now booked their place in the Semi-Finals including hosts Patriots and Ferroviario de Maputo who are both unbeaten as well as GNBC whose win ratio in the BAL Qualifiers since October is 4-1. One slot is still up for grabs as the Group Phase approaches the end. 

FIBA