How the B.A.L Elite 16 East Division shaped up

JOHANNESBURG (South Africa) - Ferroviario Da Beira and Cobra Sports will head back to their respective countries in a celebratory mood as both clubs secured qualification for the Basketball Africa League (B.A.L) tournament that will take place in Dakar, Cairo and Kigali from 5 March - 28 May 2022.

The Beira-based team will have extra cause to be jovial as they left Johannesburg unbeaten in the Elite 16 Division East qualifiers. Also, Ferroviario da Beira's victory run was made memorable by their Semi-Final victory over host Cape Town Tigers.

"IT FEELS GOOD. THE ANXIETY IS GONE. WE HAVE BEEN ON THIS JOURNEY FOR QUITE SOME TIME, ALTHOUGH I JOINED A BIT LATER, SO TO GET HERE AND FINISH UNBEATEN... WE WERE THE BEST TEAM BY A LANDSLIDE."- Jermel Kennedy

The Semi-Final win over the Tigers achieved three things for the Mozambican club: Firstly, Beira exacted vengeance for their final game loss in the zonal qualifiers in October and secondly, they sealed qualification to the B.A.L tournament. Thirdly, they become the second team from the Southern African nation to participate in the B.A.L, following the exploits of their sister club Ferroviario de Maputo.

Ferroviario da Beira secured their ticket to the BAL after a respectable 4-0, after two wins over Cobra Sport (South Sudan). Tey Mozambican champions also edged out Ulinzi Warriors (Kenya) and Cape Town Tigers (South Africa).

Beira's Canadian forward Jermel Kennedy, speaking after their victory over South Sudan's Cobra in the final game at Wembley Stadium in Johannesburg, said he was looking forward to some rest before resuming preparations for the B.A.L.

"We have a lot of time to get ready, but now I am looking forward to going home for Christmas, being with the family and eating you got eat. We will wait to hear from the coach about the plan for next year," said Kennedy, who was proud of his team's achievement. "

Cobra Sport, who will also make their debut at the second edition of the BAL tournament, made the most of their wild card entry to Elite 16.

The South Sudanese had a poor start to the Elite 16 East Division, but made signifiant to seal their ticket to the BAL thanks to a 2-2 record.

Cobra Sport, who twice came up short against Beira in the Group Phase and final game of the Elite 16 Division East, will need to put their best foot forward when they head to the BAL tournament.

Cobra's coach John Omondi explained that they now have ample time to prepare the team before the BAL tournament begins, unlike the hurried fashion they arrived in Johannesburg.

"For this tournament (Elite 16), we had done enough scouting. We had patched ourselves together, so we did not get enough time to build team chemistry. I think for the BAL, we have enough time to prepare ourselves and do a good job," said Omondi, who expects to add new talent to his roster for the BAL. "We have two slots that we want to fill. We did not add any players (for Johannesburg) as we wanted to see what this group can do. For BAL, we will definitely fill those slots."

Cape Town Tigers and New Star could not do battle for Third-Place Game as six players tested positive for COVID-19. A decision is pending from the tournament organisers about the fate of the fixture.

FIBA