DAR ES SALAAM (Tanzania) - Burundi’s Dynamo BBC recovered from their Day 2 loss in the ongoing Basketball Africa League (BAL) qualifier matches to beat Benin’s Elan Coton 88-59 and end their campaign on a high.

The three-day competition dubbed Road to BAL, hosted in Dar es Salaam, is set to produce one team that will proceed to the next round of qualification, the East Division Elite 16 set to be hosted in Johannesburg, South Africa. 

Under the tutelage of Olivier Ndayiragije, the Israel Otobo-powered Dynamo led in all four quarters, blowing Elan Coton away in the final period to build on their point-differential that could come in handy if overnight leaders Pazi BBC drop points against Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) in the final match slated for 19:00 EAT (GMT+3).

Israel Otobo is seen here in action against Elan Coton

Dynamo went 22-17, 22-18, 18-14 in the opening three quarters as the Benin champions kept things close in an attempt to bag their first win of the campaign, heading to the final period just 13 points adrift. Dynamo. However, ran the scores in the final quarter for 26-10 for the 29-point victory.

King Revolution led the charge for Dynamo’s second win in the first half, hitting double digits with 13 points as Hameed Tariq Ali added 8 to the tally and push the Burundi champions to a 44-35 lead in the first half.

Nigerian teenage sensation Otobo was big on the boards pulling down 8 rebounds in the first half as Clement Karabona added 7 in Dynamo’s tally of 21 in the first two quarters. 

Dynamo closed their Group C campaign with a 2-1 mark

For Elan Coton, Tawadioun Baboni Mama led the scored in the opening 20 minutes of action, dropping 13 and could only add one in the second half for 14 while Yves-Louis Ngaransou managed 8 (adding 6 in the second half), playing 16.36 minutes of the two periods but it was not enough to hold the Burundians as the Benin champions went into the half-time break with a 9-point deficit. 

At the end of the match, Otobo had made full use of his physicality to extend his points to 21 and bag 11 rebounds for a double-double as Bienvenu Richard Ndikuriyo and Tariq Ali sank 16 and 15 respectively. Revolution maintained his 13.

FIBA