Holland, Sane shine, NBA G League Ignite sign off with a win

SINGAPORE (Singapore) - The battle for fifth spot at the FIBA Intercontinental Cup Singapore 2023. belongs to NBA G League Ignite, after an 80-60 win over FIBA West Asia Super League champions Al Manama on Sunday.

Ignite sign off with a victory in their first trip to the FIBA Intercontinental Cup, while Al Manama end in sixth spot, with hopes of returning next year.

Turning point: It was a close game heading into the final three minutes, with Al Manama sticking around and trailing only by three, 63-60, with 3:33 remaining.

That was a signal for Babacar Sane to connect five straight, followed by John Jenkins and London Johnson three-pointers, and a Ron Holland dunk for NBA G League Ignite to go on an incredible 17-0 run in the final three-minute stretch.

Game hero: There were two, actually. Hitting the copy-paste buttons nearly to perfection, Babacar Sane had 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Ron Holland finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds on the day.

Both of them made a three, both of them were +23 in the +/- stat, and Sane spent a minute longer on the court than Holland.

Stats don't lie: Both teams struggled shooting the ball, but Ingite's defense was good enough to ignite their offense, holding Al Manama to 30 percent shooting and forcing 17 turnovers.

That's not a huge number, but it's much bigger than Ignite's 6 turnovers for the game. In fact, the G Leaguers had more steals than turnovers in this one, because they reclaimed possession seven times, compared to losing it six.

Bottom line: Coach Jason Hart probably did not enjoy the defeats in his team's first two games, but definitely enjoyed the experience of seeing his youngsters take on professionals from all over the world and learn a few lessons along the way.

That fifth place probably would've a bit higher had Matas Buzelis and Eric Mika played a game, but they were unable to get any minutes in on the floor of the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Al Manama's best player for three games was Sir' Dominic Pointer, getting a 20-point, 13-rebound double-double in the final game, with 4 blocks and a steal also to his name.

Coach Pantelis Gavriel will talk about the three-point shooting, 7-of-38 in this one makes Al Manama 17-of-80 from deep at the FIBA Intercontinental Cup 2023 Singapore.

FIBA