JBC storm past the Suns, book ticket to the Elite 16 Division East
JBC got off to a hot start and were blazing throughout the game while the Suns, who initially looked like favourites to take the group, wilted away.
GABORONE (Botswana) - Group D of the Road to BAL qualifiers saw Zimbabwean club JBC make history by becoming the first team from their country to qualify for the Elite 16 Division East.
JBC stormed past a flat Munali Suns 87-50 in the must-win encounter at the University of Botswana Indoor Arena on Monday evening.
The Zimbabwean champions got off to a hot start and were blazing throughout the game, while the Suns, who initially looked like favourites to take the group, wilted away.
Tashinga Chimba led all scorers with 17 points, while teammate and point guard Dyvonne Pfachi dropped 16 points and crashed seven boards. Innocent Zhomwa (16 points) and Noah Penduka (12 points) also scored in double figures in the rout of the Suns.
Munali looked worn out from Sunday's nail-biting win over Dolphins and found themselves trailing by 12 (22-10) against JBC.
Saul Phiri, Dyvonne Pfachi and Tashinga Chimba were all on six points for JBC.
The Zimbabweans looked the more inspired of the two teams going into the second quarter and, at the third minute, were 29-13 up against the uncharacteristically sloppy Suns, who gave away 16 points from turnovers.
The floodgates continued to flow, with JBC adding 12 more points to Munali's paltry six for a 42-19 lead.
JBC continued their dominance in the second half, scoring 45 points in a memorable performance.
DOLPHINS EASY PAST WOLVES
Homeside Dolphins Basketball Club had their best finish after beating UNAM Wolves 75-43 in the final game.
A game-high 18 points by Thuto Gaborone and team captain Kesaobaka Ndawanyana's 14 points led the Dolphins to a second-place finish in the group.
The first two quarters were tightly contested, with little to separate both teams. By the end of the first half, Wolves veteran player Allan Nghixulifwa led all scorers with 11 points. But the iDolphins held the 29-28 lead at the end of the first half.
The Dolphins went into the third quarter with a sense of urgency and scored 31 points, 11 coming from turnovers. Shooting guard Gaborone had a massive third quarter, scoring 13 points, three of his made attempts coming from behind the three-point arc.
The Botswana club were 61-36. Dolphins continued the dominance by adding 14 points to go 2-1 in the group.
GROUP D FINAL STANDINGS:
1. JBC 2-1 (+34)
2. Dolphins 2-1 (+1)
3. Munali Suns 2-1 (-35)
4. UNAM Wolves 0-3 (-75)
FIBA