Thursday Pazi BBC 78-65 Elan Coton KPA 63-75 Dynamo Two sides, Burundi's Dynamo basketball club and Tanzania's Pazi got their campaign for a slot in the Elite 16 of the ongoing Basketball Africa League (BAL) qualifiers off to a winning start. Playing against Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Elan Coton of Benin in the opening matches of Group C's Road to BAL in Dar es Salaam on October 19, the Burundians picked a 75-63 victory while Pazi entertained their home fans to a 78-65 win. KPA no match for Dynamo An Israel Oyoro and King Revolution-powered Dynamo lived up to their name as they managed to blow out the Kenyan side, in the second and third periods to put the match out of reach heading to the final stanza where the latter attempted a comeback. ALSO READ: Road to BAL: Group C teams begin quest for Elite 16 slot KPA raced to a 6-2 lead early on but Dynamo scored seven in a row to assume lead at 9-6. It was a see-saw until the 13th point for KPA who allowed the Burundians to go on another scoring spree for a 17-13 lead going into the second quarter. Dynamo picked from where they had left, Revolution opening the period with a trey that took his side's advantage to 20-13 as they eventually outscored KPA 24-13 to take a 15-point advantage to the halftime break. Tyronne Maliek Jordan cut KPA's deficit to 12 with a three-point shot in the opening minute of the second half but the Guy Arnaud-coached Kenyan side could not find their rhythm as Dynamo run rings around them for a spectacular 28-16 show in the third stanza for a 69-42 lead going into the final quarter. Trailing by 27 points at the start of the fourth quarter, KPA ran out of clock in their unsuccessful attempt for a comeback as they scored 21 while restricting their opponent to six but the damage had already been done and they lost by 12 at 75-63. Revolution, who was on the floor for just over 30 minutes scored 18, adding 11 rebounds for a double-double as Oyoro, playing for 33.03 minutes, produced a similar show with 18 points and a similar number of rebounds. David Deng and Guibert Nijimbere added 15 and 11 points to the final tally, respectively. Malik Jordan led the scoring for KPA with 22 points, bagging four of his seven attempts on threes. Okall Koranga added 12 for the side but came three rebounds shy of a double-double. Pazi Pounce on Elan Coton Home fans had the rare opportunity of watching one of their stars, former NBA player Hasheem Thabeet, who scored nine, in action on home soil for a local club, but it was Dhieu Abwok Deing who stared as Pazi picked a 78-65 win over Benin's Elan Coton in the second match of the day. Hasheem was on jump ball duties, and he got the job done as Abwok Deing opened the scores from behind the arc for the only points in more than four minutes of the opening quarter. The lead never changed hands as the home side, after recovering from the slow start, dominated for 23-15 in the first 10 minutes. Abwok Deing extended the advantage to 10 points at 25-15 with a jump shot almost two minutes into the second period and it was a closely fought encounter from then on, the quarter ending 18-15 in favour of the home term who had an 11-point cushion at halftime. With three minutes on the clock, Elan Coton were forced into a timeout to re-strategise after Pazi went ahead 15 points but that did little to change the trajectory of the match in their favour as they trailed 66-46 heading to the final quarter. The Benin side fought to come back but it was too late despite winning the quarter 19-12, a shoreline that saw the Gilles Kouama-coached side go down by 13 points. Abwok Deing scored 24 in 31.37 minutes, adding five rebounds and three assists to his numbers as Antony Ulrich managed the only double-double for Pazi, dropping 15 points and 11 rebounds. Louis Rucklin and Landry Ndikumana sunk 12 and 11 points respectively. Elan Coton's onslaught was led by Abdou Rachide Sane and Aristide Anselme Otto with 15 and 10 points, respectively. Action continues on Friday, October 20, with Elan Coton playing KPA as both sides seek redemption while day one winners Dynamo and Pazi clash in a crucial second game.
