Africa-Press – Rwanda. Saturday, May 24
APR 102-106 Al Ahli Tripoli
The race for the remaining playoffs’ slots in the Nile Conference will be decided on the last day of the conference on Sunday after APR lost their penultimate game to Al Ahli Tripoli 102-106 at BK Arena on Saturday, May 24.
The result left the race for the last two remaining playoffs spots to the final day of the Nile Conference on Sunday, May 25.
Ahli Tripoli are assured of top spot with a 5-0 record. APR and MBB are each on 2-3, while Kenya’s Nairobi City Thunder are on 1-4.
If MBB upset Al Ahli Tripoli in the early tip-off at 2:30pm, the South African side will qualify and so will APR if they beat Nairobi City Thunder (NCT) in the 5:30pm tip-off.
However, if MBB lose, they will be eliminated. APR can still lose and progress to the playoffs if they finish in the top three in the conference and beat FUS Rabat’s Kalahari Conference record of 2-4 with a -19 points difference. The Rwandan side’s points difference is currently +19.
APR were boosted by the return of Aliou Diarra and Dane Miller Jr., who had missed the previous match – which they lost MBB 88-94.
The first quarter was an even fight with Deon Thompson starting strong as usual for Ahli Tripoli and Chasson Randle for APR. The Libyan side led 28-26 at the end of the quarter.
Led by Jaylen Adams while Jean-Jacques Boissy took his time getting a feel of the game, Ahli Tripoli edged the second quarter too, although a buzzer-beating three from William Robeyns reduced the deficit to four points heading into half-time at 53-49.
The third quarter saw both teams enjoying scoring runs. First, Ahli Tripoli extended their lead to 63-52. However, the home crowd got behind APR and helped them move within touching distance. Big shots came from all over and APR managed to keep Boissy relatively quiet by his standards.
Again, towards the end of the quarter, Ahli Tripoli regained control and they ultimately went into the fourth quarter with an 84-70 lead.
APR tried to fight back and Obadiah Noel took his personal tally to 30 points to make him the top scorer on the night. Still, Ahli Tripoli’s depth once again made the difference. Adams was Ahli’s best player on the night with 26 points and significant creative and defensive contributions with 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 steals.
Ahli are one of six teams who have already booked their place at the playoffs from June 6-14, with the others being Al Ittihad (Egypt), Rivers Hoopers (Nigeria), US Monastir (Tunisia), Petro de Luanda (Angola) and Kriol Star (Cape Verde).
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