Ganapamo inspires Bangui in hard-fought win over SLAC
SLAC gave Bangui Sporting Club a good run and at some points in the game scared them and forced them into turnovers but they could get better if they put their acts together.
YAOUNDE (Cameroon) - Co-hosts of the Elite 16, Division West, Bangui Sporting Club had to dig deep into their technical expertise to record an 88-79 win over a talented and stubborn SLAC side from Guinea.
Bangui becomes the second team in Group B to record a win after FUS Rabat defeated ABC Fighters in the opening game 84-76.
The Central African Republic champions led by as many as 10 points, but the third quarter brought out the resilience of SLAC as they fought back to tie the match at 63-63 at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter of the match saw SLAC take the lead for the first time, but Bangui close it out in style
TURNING POINT: For a game in which scores got tied six times, Bangui were the more composed side and Evans Ganapamo epitomised that attitude to perfection.
The former Cape Town Tigers forward brought his team back from the slight lead that SLAC had with 4:30 seconds left in the game.
From this point, it was the sustenance of the lead that kept Bangui on even as SLAC kept coming back and forcing the co-hosts to play more defensively.
HEROES: Bangui have Ganapamo's 25 points to thank for his scoring ability and the contributions of Rolly Fula who added 13 points. Team captain Max Kouguere came up with 12 points and Yasser Kamayenga added 11 in the winning cause.
SLAC, on their part, had Zaid Hearst's 23 points, Nisre Zouzoua' 21 points, Marcus Gilbert's 16 points and Maodo Nguirane's 16 points to give kudos to for their fighting spirit and tenacity.
Nisre Zouzoua
STATS DON'T LIE: Bangui benefited from the 14 turnovers committed by SLAC as against 6 on their part. They also scored 18-8 second chance shots and had 15-5 fast breaks points to stay better.
BOTTOM LINE: SLAC gave Bangui SC a good run and at some points in the game scared them and forced them into turnovers but they could get better if they put their acts together. Bangui now understand that there’s no easy game and will come out better prepared for their other games.
THEY SAID: "This is a hard-fought victory but we’re happy that we won at the end. Our opponent showed a great deal of fighting power, shot very well and kept coming back but we knew we had what it takes to win the game. I am really glad for the guys." – Liz Mills, Coach of Bangui SC.
“We feel good winning this first game because we prepared hard for it. SLAC was good and kept the pressure on us but we had to put up a good defence to help us win. This is a first win and that puts us in a good position." – Max Kouguere, Captain of Bangui SC
"We started slowly, picked it up back on defense and that helped our offense going but at the end, we ran out of gas. We only had a good practice session for just two days compared to our opponent that have been together for two months. However, we’re getting better every day.” - Marcus Gilbert, SLAC forward.
FIBA