Bangui Sporting Club win Group B, advance to the Elite 16
YAOUNDE - The win means the Bangui-based club advance to the West Division Elite 16 Round as Group B winners despite finishing with a similar win-loss record of FAP.
YAOUNDE (Cameroon) - Bangui Sporting Club closed their Group B campaign of the Road to BAL with a stunning 88-87 win over hosts Forces Armees et Police (FAP) on Thursday.
It was Bangui Sporting Club's second straight win in the group after starting with an unexpected 73-69 defeat to Espoir Basket Club.
The win means the Bangui-based club advance to the West Division Elite 16 Round as Group B winners despite finishing with a similar win-loss record of FAP.
Bijan Johnson
Bijan Johnson came up with his best display with the Bangui uniform on, finishing with a team-high 20 points; Alex Higgins remained a solid piece for the Central African Republic champions, adding 16 points and 9 rebounds, 7 of which grabbed on the offensive end.
And dependable RD Congo international player Rolly Fula was on a mission after making 8 of his 12 field-goal attempts to finish with 19 points in the winning cause.
FAP forward Arnold Kome was impressive from behind the arc, making 7 of his 10 three-point attempts to finish with a game-high of 25 points; Cyrille Liale added 20 points and Ettiene Tometong contributed 19 points, but Bangui Sporting Club ended as the group better side.
Evans Ganapamo
And although FAP led by as many as 15 points at some point, Bangui Sporting Club never backed down to send a statement out of their intentions in the race for one of the three tickets on offer for West Division teams for the Basketball Africa League Season 4.
FAP displayed some solid performances in the first two games of the tournament, however, playing Bangui Sporting Club was nothing like beating Espoir Basket Club and BC Virunga.
Bangui played terrific defensively, forcing FAP to turn the ball over 25 times. And, Bangui's three block shots were a testament of their tough defensive game plan.
Both Bangui Sporting Club and FAP advance to the West Division Elite 16 scheduled for Yaounde from October 31 to November 5.
The two sides join five other teams, including Al Ahly Benghazi (Libya), FUS Rabat (Morocco), ABC Fighters (Cote d'Ivoire), Stade Malien (Mali) and SLAC (Guinea). One wild card is expected to be confirmed by FIBA Africa to complete the eight-team Elite 16 line-up.
BC Viruga celebrate their only win in Group B
Meanwhile, in the first game of the day, BC Virunga closed their Group B campaign with a remarkable effort after rallying from a 19-point deficit to beat Espoir Basket Club 79-76.
It was the Congolese champions' only win after three game.
Group B finished as follows:
1. Bangui Sporting Club (2-1)
2. FAP (2-1)
3. BC Virunga (1-2)
4. Espoir Basket Club (1-2)
5. Lamantins (withdrew after playing the first half against FAP).
FIBA