HARARE (Zimbabwe) - Road to BAL debutantes Basket Hounds and Fox Basketball had a day to remember as they opened their campaign with wins. Matero Magic followed suit with a win.
Here's an overview of events at City Sports Centre in Harare.
HOSTS PREVAIL
Basket Hounds survived a third-quarter collapse in their opening Road to BAL Group E against Malawi's Bravehearts on Wednesday night at the City Sports Complex.
Cheered on by local fans in the arena, the Hounds regrouped late in the fourth quarter to win 72-62.
A game-high 28 points from captain Innocent Zhomwa and 15 from Kamani Morris saw Hounds close the night out with the victory.
From the first half, the Hounds had their foot on the accelerator and were 40-31 ahead heading to the second half.
Harrison Banda of Bravehearts had a dominant first half with 13 points and eight boards. The big man was 7-for-10 from the free-throw line and had a 50% (3-for-6) from field goal.
Bravehearts lived up to their name by coming from 10 in the third quarter, and for the remainder of the second half, they were neck and neck in scoring.
Turning point: The Hounds were down by three (48-45) going into the fourth, where they regained the initiative with crucial buckets from Zhomwa.
Game hero: Zhomwa showed up big when his team needed their leader, and he gave them big buckets.
Stats don't lie: Zhomwa's 15 points in the fourth helped the Hounds regroup and put them on the path to victory.
Bottom line: With the first win, the Hounds will be full of confidence for their next game against the Botswana Defence Force on Thursday.
They said: "It was hard fought game on both sides. We just had to execute a little from our side. They had us on the rebounds and the inside game, but once we locked it was a game of runs," said Morris.
"Fatigue caught up with us. We are down a few players and there were some tired legs. We were in foul trouble and our defence had to be more careful, so it haunted us in the fourth quarter," said Ian Limbe of the Bravehearts.
PHIRI INSPIRES MAGIC
Saul Phiri's double-double (12 points and 13 rebounds) got Matero Magic off a winning start. The Magic clinched a memorable 78-71 victory over Mozambican club Costa do Sol.
Magic captain Chongo Chona led all scorers with 22 points, and big man Elijah Mukelabai bagged a double-double (12 points and 11 rebounds).
Costa do Sol Ayad Munguambe led his team with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
SOUTH SUDAN'S CHAMPS SHINE
In the day's opening game, Fox Basketball Club hung on for a 76-67 victory over the Botswana Defence Force (BDF).
A double-double (15 points and 13 rebounds) from Peter Marial and Aluk Adub's 13 points and 10 boards gave their first Road to BAL win.
BDF were led in scoring by Kesaobaka Ndawanyana's game-high 17 points, while Tanaka Ndyara (15) and Karabo Rabothaako (14) also contributed individual double-digit points.
FIBA