AS Douanes defeat Kwara Falcons for second BAL win

AS Douanes' Marcus Christopher Crawford drives to the basket against Stade Malien (COURTESY PICTURE)

BAL AS Douanes defeat Kwara Falcons for second BAL win

Ndyamuhaki J Emanzi 22:16 - 18.03.2023

While Douanes improved to 2-2, the Falcons dropped further to 0-4 with one game left.

AS Douanes were on the blink of elimination in the Basketball Africa League before Friday night's action.

Two losses from the opening two games of the Sahara Conference meant that another defeat would mathematically rule them out of making the playoffs.

But a spirited fight in the third game saw the Senegalese champions defeat Stade Malien 74-58 to get off the mark.

Friday's win left the host team at a 1-2 record and still in danger, but after Saturday's 75-68 triumph over Nigeria's Kwara Falcons, Douanes are back in business.

Backed by the home crowd, Douanes got out of the blocks early to lead 20-17 after the first quarter.

The lead stretched to six points (41-35) going into the halftime break and further ballooned to 12 (59-47) at the end of the third frame.

And despite losing the fourth quarter 21-16, the damage had been done, and Douanes ran away 75-68 winners to improve to a 2-2 record.

Jean Jacques Boissy came off the bench to lead the way for the home team, recording a game-high 22 points, picking four rebounds and dishing out four assists.

Marcus Christopher Crawford and Bryan Osei added 17 and 10 points, respectively, to keep the hosts in contention.

Meanwhile, Kwara Falcons had team captain Victor Ezeh leading the way with 12 points and Modou Fall Thiam with 10.

While Douanes improved to 2-2, the Falcons dropped further to 0-4 with one game left.

Douanes are tied with Stade Malien on two wins and now occupy the last qualification place.

The Falcons are rooted at the base of the log and have no chance of progressing to May's playoffs.

The Nigerian side still has to play ABC Fighters on Monday, while Douanes have a clash with BAL defending champions US Monastir on Tuesday.

At the end of the tournament being held in Dakar, Senegal, the top four teams will progress to the playoffs slated for May 21-28 in Kigali, Rwanda.

Basketball Africa League

Sahara Conference

Saturday result

Kwara Falcons 68-75 AS Douanes