Africa-Press – Rwanda. Tuesday, May 20
NCT 74-75 MBB
APR 68-90 Al Ahli SC
APR Basketball Club suffered first defeat at home in the BAL 2025 Nile Conference after falling 68-90 to Libya’s Al Ahli Tripoli at BK Arena, on Tuesday, May 20.
The win extended Al Ahli Tripoli’s win record to 3-0, becoming the only unbeaten club in the Nile Conference, having each team in the first round. They defeated South Africa’s MBB 87-77 before writing their name into the BAL history books as the highest scoring team in a single match when they beat Kenya’s Nairobi City Thunder 115–87.
The Libyan champions’ standout player Senegalese point guard Jean Jacques Boissy, led the team with 27 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals as they dominated APR before their home crowd. President Paul Kagame was also in attendance.
APR started strong, winning the first quarter 17–11, but Al Ahli bounced back and took the second quarter 29-25 to open a one-point lead at before the pair headed into half time break.
Coach Fouad Abou Chacra’s men continued to dominate in the second half, winning the third quarter 19–11 and the fourth 29–16 to maintain their unbeaten streak in Kigali.
APR’s Obadiah Noel and Chasson Jermar Randle each scored 18 points, while Youssoupha Ndoye added 11 but their contribution wasn’t enough as the team still fell short.
APR were without their star player Aliou Diarra, who is sidelined with an injury but coach James Maye Jr. said the loss wasn’t solely due to his absence.
“They did their best defensively, creating screens, which we didn’t. As for Diarra, our medical team is working hard to get him back,” Maye said.
In the earlier game of the day, South Africa’s MBB secured their first Conference win with a narrow 75–74 victory over Kenya’s Nairobi City Thunder, ending NCT’s BAL 2025 campaign.
Wednesday will be a rest day for all teams. They will return to action on Thursday, May 22, when Al Ahli take on NCT at 4pm before APR go up against MBB.
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