Al Ittihad Punish Rivers Hoopers in Ruthless BAL Clash to Stay Undefeated in Kalahari Conference

Al Ittihad Punish Rivers Hoopers in Ruthless BAL Clash to Stay Undefeated in Kalahari Conference

Despite the two clubs having booked their tickets to Pretoria for the playoffs in June, there was still much to play for in this second encounter. For Rivers Hoopers, it was to redeem themselves from their only loss. For Al Ittihad, it was to continue with their unbeaten run. Al Ittihad head coach Omar Soliman has had the luxury of going deep into his rotation, often playing 10 players. However, he is most notorious for how often he changes his starting lineup, and today was no different.

Majok Deng and Angok Deng saw themselves starting on the bench, while 2021 BAL champion and defensive player of the year Anas Mahmoud was back in the starting lineup after struggling with his ankle. The game got off to an exciting start with oohs and aahs on both ends. Rivers Hoopers, also known as the Kingsmen, had the play of the game in the first quarter when Kelvin Amayo threw a 50-foot alley to Raphael Putney, who finished it with authority at the rim—the first quarter ended at 19 points apiece.

The second quarter is where it all came crashing down for the Kingsmen. They struggled to score; they did not care for the ball and lost their defensive cohesion. The senior guys that they often look to for inspiration were nowhere to be found, with Maxi Shamba spending most of the quarter on the bench, Kelvin Amayo looking gassed, and Madut Akec struggling to score. They were held to only 10 points in this quarter while the men from Alexandria continued to put on an offensive masterclass as they scored 30 points in this quarter to take a 20-point lead with the score at 49-29.

Majok Deng once again proved to be a handful for any defender in front of him, easily getting to his spots and dropping point after point. However, it was their defensive discipline that was most impressive. They did not lose shape and put pressure on the ball at all times, leading the Kingsmen into bad shot selection and no second chance on offence. Peter Olisemeka scored four points in the quarter, the only points for the Nigerian side for the last six minutes.

The third quarter was tightly contested, with little separating the two teams. However, it was a testament to the kind of effort that the Kingsmen could muster despite their lacklustre first half. They were able to score 27 points. Often led by the tenacious defensive efforts of Michael Afuwape and Kelvin Amayo’s playmaking abilities.

The men from Alexandria remained composed as they stuck to what worked for them in the second quarter and continued to ride that wave of momentum as they moved the ball well and applied smothering pressure defensively. They scored 26 points in this quarter. The quarter ended at 75-56.

The Kingsmen showed valiant effort in how hard they fought, but it was too late to turn around their irreparable damage in the second quarter as Al Ittihad claimed a 94-77 victory. The Kingsmen showed character in how they finished the game. Both coaches cleared their benches and let everyone get game time and experience the BAL.

There is still a possibility that these two sides will meet in Pretoria, an opportunity both sides will relish as the stakes will be higher. The Egyptian, Abdelrazzak Aboushousha, was the match's star with 15 points while going perfectly from the field. Peter Olisemeka led all rebounders with 17 rebounds. Abdelrazzak Aboushousha had the following to say when asked what the secret is for his team’s performance:

"We came here to make a statement that we are contenders. We’re not just here to qualify so every game matters so we show [them] that we are a good team… We struggled in the first game because we had to add like 4 new players and needed some time to get to know each other but things started going smooth." 

The two sides will round off their conference tomorrow when Rivers Hoopers take on winless Stade Malien and Al Ittihad take on hosts, FUS Rabat.

[Photography Courtesy of BAL]