Customs' lucky escape leaves coach Abdulrahman a worried man ahead of quarters
The Mohammed-led Nigerians had to dig deep for what he termed a scrappy win against a relatively weaker side as they trailed 57-56 with 2.41 minutes to play but managed to redeem themselves for the win.
ALEXANDRIA (Egypt) - Nigerian champions Customs picked a hard-fought 66-57 win over DR Congo's CNSS in their final Group A match to finish in third place ahead of the Quarter-Finals at the ongoing Africa Women's Basketball League (AWBL).
The Abdulrahman Mohammed-led Nigerians had to dig deep for what the tactician termed a scrappy win against a relatively weaker side as they trailed 57-56 with 2.41 minutes to play but managed to redeem themselves for the win.
The side threw away an 11-point lead after the opening quarter that ended 26-15 in their favour, allowing CNSS to go 18-06 and assume lead at 33-32 heading to the second half.
Maranne Johnson
Koko Ade's charges were determined not to finish the Group Phase winless and kept the match close to see the third end 13-12 for a 45-all tie.
Both sides were still in a heated exchange with CNSS leading 55-53 in the opening five minutes of the final stanza, but Ade's charges could not master the character to stay the course as they scored, surprisingly, just two points off a Debarah Tshiyoyo's jump shot, in the final five minutes while allowing Custom to go on a 13-point run for the win.
Olaoluwatomi Taiwo and skipper Nkem Akaraiwe combined for 44 of the team's 66, the former scoring 24 while Nkem added the rest coupled with 14 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 assists for a game-high efficiency ranking of 27.
Customs closed their Group A campaign with a 2-2 mark
Coach Abdulrahman offered after the clash: "We were here to learn and to compete and our ability to do that has paid off with the two wins. We played our qualifiers late and did not have time to work on areas that needed adjusting so we have been doing that as we go.
"You have to give credit to the CNSS team. They had their back against the wall, chasing a first win so they gave us a run. I am just happy we won. Hopefully, we will do much better in the next round."
Despite the win, the tactician admits that his team is not ready for the challenge expected in the next stage.
Abdulrahman Mohammed
"Teams have identified that we are struggling with pressure defence and they come out and make it hard on us to play. The competition is getting tougher and we expect more of this. We are trying hard to contain this pressure and are struggling to even get the ball past the half-court and that is a big concern," he explained.
Scheduled to play star-studded Inter Club who finished second in Group B, the coach seemed speechless when asked what they would do to win that clash.
"We have just struggled to beat a team that has not won a match and now we have to plan for a team as experienced as Inter Clube. For now, I don't have a game plan but we have a rest day which we will use to strategise.
It will be tough on us. The thought of facing Inter Clube is giving me jitters but miracles do happen so we will keep the belief," he concluded.
Meanwhile, CNSS have one more assignment against Benin's ASPAC in the 9-10 classification match as both sides look to finally bag a win.
FIBA