Saturday REG 64-84 Stade Malien Rwanda Energy Group (REG) basketball club, had a day to forget after tasting their first Basketball Africa League BAL 2023 defeat in the Sahara Conference after they were beaten by Stade Malien 64-84 on Saturday, March 18, at Dakar Arena. Prior to the game, REG had already qualified for the playoffs that will take place in Kigali in May after winning three conference games in a row. However, they were not able to keep their winning streak although they looked superior to Stade Malien. But the Malian side beat them against all odds. Saturday’s game was not only the second win for Stade Malien in four games but a major boost for the Malians who are pushing for their first playoffs in May. Stade Malien put up a determined display that saw them walk away with victory in the evening, thanks to team work and some individual brilliance from players like Souleymane Berthe who scored a game-high 23 points,7 rebounds. Three Stade Malien players- including Souleymane Berthe, Aliou Diarra and Kelvin Amayo –combined a total of 57 points. It was obviously a bad day for REG whose play was far from efficient with a series of turnovers with a shooting rate which was below standard. Point guard Adonis Filer led the way by contributing a team-high 19 points but his individual brilliance was not enough to lift the team. Delwan Graham added 18 points, Dieudonne Ndizeye scored 8 points while Cleveland Thomas put up arguably the lowest scoring contribution in the conference campaign with just 6 points throughout the game. REG will be back in action on Monday against BAL defending champions US Monastir.
