Today Petro de Luanda Vs FAP 6pm Zamalek v US Monastir 9:30pm Radhouane Slimane, the Captain of US Monastir says his side go into the tie with lessons they learnt from the loss they suffered at the hands of the Egyptian club in the finals of last year’s showpiece. When the two clubs met in last year’s finals, Zamalek came out on top and ran away with the trophy, becoming the champions of the inaugural tournament, which they are out to defend at the current competition. “I feel fully confident in my team. We work hard together and we have good chemistry. Everything depends on us. We don’t have selfish players on this team. This is good for us. There’s no revenge in sport. One bad day can affect the game. That’s how we lost last year. We learned a lot from that game,” Slimane told BAL’s media. The 41-year-old mainly plays as a power forward and has been instrumental to US Monastir’s great performances in both last year’s and this year’s BAL tournament with his leadership abilities, skill and experience in the game. On Zamalek’s side, William Voigt, the American tactician who is their current head coach, reflected on the threat that US Monastir can pose. “We understand that we better get there quickly or Monastir is going to destroy us,” said the man who can become the first head coach to win the BAL and a FIBA Afrobasket title. Zamalek remains the only team that has never tasted defeat in BAL history. Voigt who previously guided Nigeria to their only African championship title in 2015, admitted that in terms of the bigger picture, “Getting to the finals, winning the finals, that’s never been our approach. Ours has been one game at a time.” Another concern for Zamalek is former AfroBasket MVP Ike Diogu, who was brilliant during the Nile Conference. “Ike, an important player for us, is out with an injury. We weren’t any way close to the level that we were in Cairo,” Voigt said. “We understand that Monastir is a really, really good team. If we play the same way we played on Tuesday [against SLAC] we’ll lose.” Both teams kept most of their squads from last year, but Souleyam Diabate switched allegiances. The Ivorian international player was vital for Zamalek last season, but he has since joined US Monastir. A thorough look into the numbers of both teams, and it reveals how evenly-matched this clash could be. US Monastir display a relatively higher Field-Goal percentage (47.8) compared to Zamalek’s 43.6. Even when it comes to rebounding the difference is close with Monastir averaging 41.5 boards against Zamalek’s 40.5 per game. US Monastir averaged 84 points per game against Zamalek’s 85.
