KIBAHA (Tanzania) - 2023 Basketball Africa League (BAL) coach of the year Mamadou Gueye marshalled his troops, Urunani Basketball Club to a 4-0 run in the Road to BAL East Division Group D qualifiers, ending the phase unbeaten to qualify for the Elite 16.
In their final clash of the five-team competition, at the Filbert Bayi Schools in Kibaha, the Burundi champions faced off with Madagascar's GNBC and the latter had nothing on the star-studded squad, falling 112-56.
The 56-point difference was this year's Road to BAL's largest winning margin.
Turning Point: With Mohamed Doumbya going crazy offensively, scoring 15 points in the opening quarter, 12 in the last half of the period, Urunani had the momentum they need to complete their run and there was no stopping them as they took a 29-14 lead.
A 31-12 run in the second half that included five treys, three from Marcus Christopher Crawford with Doumbya and Brian Irakoze Kavakure adding one each, was the proverbial final nail on GNBC's coffin as they trailed by 34, more points than they had managed in two quarters, heading to the second half where little changed.
Game Hero: Doumbya tied on points with BAL finalist Jean-Jacques Boissy with 25, both dropping four and five threes respectively. The latter added 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals to finish with a game-high 31 in efficiency. Stats Don’t Lie: GNBC have had a slow start in all their matches, trailing 20-15 in the opening quarter in their 89-72 victory against hosts JKT, and again 22-14 in a 98-72 comeback victory against Beau Vallon Heat of Seychelles.
In a 96-60 loss to Nairobi City Thunder, they trailed 29-12 in the first period and it was not surprising to see the trend continue against Urunani. However, Lova Raharidera's charges had bitten more than they could chew against the Burundians and were dominated on all fronts.
An 11-of -27 from beyond the arc in the opening three quarters, ending the match with 14 treys took the mantle away from GNBC (9-of-30) who pride themselves in shooting from outside. Bottom Line: The journey is over for Islanders, but for Gueye's men have one more hurdle to surmount for their quest to make their BAL debut.
GNBC's sharpshooter Elly Randriamampionona sat out the match due a knee discomfort.
They Said: "We had a target and it has been achieved, but the journey is just starting. We make a comeback to the Elite 16 since 2022 where the competition gets tougher. We have a good squad this time and I am confident we can compete for a spot in BAL. We will keep working towards that," Urunani captain Landry Ndikumana.
"It was not the performance we had hoped for but we did our best against tough opposition. We will regroup and come back stronger," GNBC's Elly Randriamampionona.
FIBA