On a BAL career night, Pieter Prinsloo recorded a game-high 30 points and 11 rebounds, Teafale Lenard Jr. added 20 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Made By Basketball (MBB, South Africa) defeated Nairobi City Thunder (Kenya) 75-74 when the BAL Nile Conference resumed at BK Arena in Kigali on Tuesday afternoon. MBB overcame an 18-point deficit in the second half and it came down to a dramatic three-pointer from Robinson Opong, his second in the game, to get Sam Vincent’s team one-point ahead with just over three seconds left.
The Thunder were led by Evans Ganapamo (21 points) and Tylor Ongwae (20 points), but were shooting 36 percent from the floor and could not hold to the lead late in the fourth. It was MBB’s first win in the competition (1-2) as they look for a slot in the upcoming BAL Playoffs and Finals back home in Pretoria (June 6-14). After three games in Kigali, the Thunder (0-3) are still searching for a win.
In the second game, Al Ahli Tripoli (Libya) beat APR (Rwanda) 90-68, becoming the only undefeated team in the Nile Conference. Jean Jacques Boissy and Naseim Badrush combined for 52 points, 11 rebounds and six steals for Al Ahli, while Obadiah Noel and Chasson Randle scored 18 points each for APR, who were missing Aliou Diarra due to injury. After three games, Al Ahli (3-0) sits on top of the Nile Conference, with APR (2-1) losing their first game in the competition.
The BAL continues on Thursday when Al Ahli takes on Nairobi at 4 p.m. CAT and APR faces MBB at 7 p.m. CAT.
Africa Fact: The Nigerian city of Surame flourished in the sixteenth century. Even in ruin it was an impressive sight, built on a horizontal vertical grid. A modern scholar describes it thus: “The walls of Surame are about 10 miles in circumference and include many large bastions or walled suburbs running out at right angles to the main wall. The large compound at Kanta is still visible in the centre, with ruins of many buildings, one of which is said to have been two-storied. The striking feature of the walls and whole ruins is the extensive use of stone and tsokuwa (laterite gravel) or very hard red building mud, evidently brought from a distance. There is a big mound of this near the north gate about 8 feet in height. The walls show
regular courses of masonry to a height of 20 feet and more in several places. The best preserved portion is that known as sirati (the bridge) a little north of the eastern gate . . . The main city
walls here appear to have provided a very strongly guarded entrance about 30 feet wide.”
Bleachers
Alec Stewart, OBE had a batting average of 39.54. This is the lowest for a player who has scored at least 8000 runs. Stewart holds a score of 8,463 Test runs. This figure is significant because Stewart was born on April 8, 1963 (8/4/63). He is also the cricketer with the highest Test runs who does not have a career double history.
Hen Skittle
In case of windy conditions during a match, the umpires may decide to have the bails removed to avoid having them blown off. They may also be replaced by heavier bails to keep them secure on the stumps. Although the bails may not be present, they are assumed to still be on the stump. It will then be up to the umpires to decide if the wicket had been broken or not.