Friday
ABC 90-74 US Monastir
Abidjan Basketball Club (ABC) Fighters on Friday night pulled up 90-74 surprise but convincing victory over BAL defending champions US Monastir boost their chances of qualifying for the playoffs in May in Kigali.
Few expected BAL debutant ABC to beat the Tunisian giants who have been dominant over the past two seasons but Liz Mills and her men put history aside to cause one of the biggest upsets in the Sahara Conference so far.
Mills, the only woman coaching in the BAL, acknowledged the work that her players did to keep Monastir at bay until the last minute.
"Credit to the team that did a good job executing the game plan,” said Mills who is in her second BAL season.
"They did their homework, they did their scouting, especially after that REG game. When we felt that we really lost that game rather they beat us. They bounced back and played the way they did, it’s credit to the team.”
With the win, ABC ended US Monastir’s BAL five-game winning streak which lasted since March 2022.
"We know that on any given day that, if we play like this, we’ll beat any single team in the BAL,” the Australian coach added.
Abdoulaye Harouna inspired ABC with his game-high 33 points; Mike Fofana successfully made four of his seven three-pointers to finish with 18 points while Stephane Konate contributed 15 points in the winning cause.
It was a game that ABC desperately needed to win, and leading 41-36 at the break reflected the team’s desperation mode.
Two nights ago, Monastir trailed Kwara Falcons at the break, but managed to turn the score around. However, ABC’s scouting report on the defending champions proved vital.
"Tough one. Monastir is the team to beat. It’s very (tough) to be in this position,” said US Monastir forward Ibrahima Thomas who finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
"We started the game well, but somehow they made a run and we couldn’t recover from it,” Thomas admitted, noting that his side is now focused to the remaining two games.
"We just need to go to the drawing board and make sure we learn from our mistakes, and try to win the next two games,” the Senegalese explained.
Harouna was ABC’s inspiring figure for most of the game.
The Nigerien opened the score with a mid-range jumper before Thomas responded with a three-pointer.
It was an evenly-matched encounter for most of the first three quarters, but when Fofana hit a buzzer-beater three-pointer that extended ABC’s lead to 58-54 at the end of the third, Monastir looked helpless.
Fofana’s three-pointer that gave ABC a 61-54 advantage hurt Monastir even more.
Things were moving from bad to worse for Monastir, and when veteran Radhouane Slimane picked up his fourth foul with 8:30 minutes left and Monastir trailed 63-55, ABC looked in control of their destiny.
Even when Slimane returned for the remaining two minutes of the game, he only lasted 30 seconds before fouling out with 1.30 minutes left.
Technical fouls to Jerome Randle, coach Modrag Perisic; 22 turnovers, poor free-throw shooting (13-for-19) marked Monastir’s first defeat this BAL season.
"We needed this win to get closer to the qualification,” Harouna said. "It was big for us. And doing it against the defending champions was even better. That’s a good team win.”