Ferroviario da Beira and Cobra Sport make history by booking tickets to Basketball Africa League 2022

 

JOHANNESBURG (South Africa) - South Sudan's Cobra Sport and Mozambique champions Ferroviario da Beira qualified to the second edition of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) after winning the two Elite 16 Division East Semi-Final on Friday in Johannesburg.  

The South Sudanese made history after staving off a brave fightback from Burundi club New Star.

Cobra Sport, who won the nail-biting encounter 78-76, had to hold their breath in the dying seconds when New Star's Rwandan shooting guard Kenny Gasana three-pointer did not land, sparking wild celebrations from the South Sudanese club.

Cobra's shooting guard Michael Tang, who led the team with 27 points, had an efficient scoring display. Tang made 50% of his Field-Goals, and he was even better from behind the arc, where he was 4-for-6, in a battle where there was not much to separate the two in the first two quarters.

The South Sudanese team, who went into first-half with a 41-37 lead, looked like they would break away in the third quarter as they bullied the under-sized Burundian club in the paint and shot the ball with ease in the period.

Athletic Rwandan shooting guard Dieudonne Ndizeye, who landed a three-point buzzer-beater in the second quarter, caught fire going into the third stanza.

Dieudonne Ndizeye seen in action against Ferroviario da Beira

Ndizeye, who contributed 20 points, landed three more threes for Cobra, who had a 20-point lead with three minutes remaining in the third. That lead would cut to 17 points (67-50) heading to the fourth quarter, where New Star came alive.

The Burundians, who came into the Semi-Final unbeaten from the Group Phase, came with fury in the last quarter.

New Star managed to contain the shooting of Cobra, and the East African club turned their good defence into an even better offence. Led by Spanish signing Alvaro Masa, who delivered a 33 point performance, and the facilitating of Gasana, who had a sub-par scoring day (eight points), chopped away at the Cobra lead.

By the fifth minute of the fourth, Cobra saw their lead reduced to 11 points (71-60). Masa would land some clutch free-throws after being fouled from behind the arc by Ndizeye to put the score within a point (77-76) with 7.6 seconds remaining.

Cobra's Tang, who was fouled from an inbounds pass, would make one of his Free-Throws to make it a two-point game.

With five seconds remaining, the ball was in the hands of the clutch Gasana, who drove up and fired from some distance, but it ended in sadness for New Star as the ball did not land, sparking wild celebrations from Cobra.

New Star have another opportunity to qualify for the BAL as they will play in the Third-Place playoff game on Saturday.

For Cobra, who will play in the final game for bragging rights, there was jubilation at having secured qualification the prestigious BAL tournament.

Cobra's coach Omondi, while excited about the achievement of his team, he also lamented his team's lacklustre fourth-quarter display.

"It's an unbelievable feeling. We came here (Johannesburg) not sure what our position would be, but we knew we had to make the most of this opportunity," said Omondi. "The fourth quarter has been problematic for us. In our first game (against Ferroviario Da Beira), we lost in the fourth quarter. In this game, the boys were careless with their passing and thought they had already won. So, we had to draw them back in and remind them that they (New Star) are good with mature players, who can bring them back into the game. We had to maintain our composure."

In the highly-anticipated game of the day, Ferroviario Da Beira secured the second automatic spot of the Elite 16, Division East Semi-Final on after beating host club Cape Town Tigers.

Beira's 77-75 win was sweet revenge after losing to the Tigers in the zonal qualifiers in October.

Mozambican international Ismael Nurmamade was impressive from behind the arc, hitting four of his seven attempts en route to a game-high 24 points. Jermel Michele Kennedy,  William Kiah Perry and Helton Ubisse combined for 47 points in the winning cause. Ubisse, a true warrior in the paint, added 11 rebounds to his account.

Evans Ganapamo, Myck Kabongo and Billy Preston Jr - the only Cape Town Tigers to score in double figures - combined for 47 points, but hosts' 20 turnovers proved costly.

Beira, who have secured qualification for the BAL tournament, will face South Sudanese club Cobra Sports in the final game on Saturday.

The Tigers, who will feel unlucky to have lost the semi-final clash, will face Burundian club New Star for the final qualifying spot on Saturday.

FIBA