PRAIA (Cape Verde) - Al-Ahly Benghazi continued their impressive campaign on Tuesday in Praia, outclassing Moanda BB 85–68 in a Group B match.
This was the Libyan champions' fourth win in the current 2026 Road to BAL campaign, and their first in the Elite 16 round. Meanwhile, Moanda, who had a 2–0 record in the preliminary round in Kinshasa, lost their first game of the season.
Cedric Tsangue opened the scoring for Moanda with a layup, but Adrees Zeew then hit a three-pointer to put Al-Ahly Benghazi in the driving seat.
This set the tone for Benghazi, who never trailed again.
They extended their lead in the third quarter, at one point leading by 30 points, to signal their intentions in the West Division Elite 16.
Croatian Tomislav Zubcic and Guinean Alpha Kaba caused Moanda Basket all sorts of trouble in the paint, grabbing rebound after rebound to solidify their dominance.
New addition Marcos Wright led Al Ahly Benghazi with 17 points; John Jordan added 13; and Zeew contributed eight.
Although Moanda displayed some eye-catching individual plays and outscored Benghazi 24–11 in the fourth quarter, there was no way back for the Gabonese team.
Desire Mouzita and Dolivitch Moupomo combined for 26 Moanda points, but they must now regroup for the rest of their Elite 16 campaign, according to Marvin Mapaga.
Malaga said: "It was tough for us. They have good big guys inside who can score and rebound. We were unable to contain their physicality. We have to take more shots and attack the basket more. Another area for improvement is our rebounding."
Sofian Hamad, captain of the Al Ahly Benghazi team, later explained to FIBA.basketball how they had secured the win: 'The most important thing for us was winning. It's always hard to start a competition with a win, but we managed to keep our composure and secure it.
"Moanda played tough, but we stayed focused throughout because we knew how important it was to win. We'll try to maintain our momentum and qualify for the BAL."
"Marco Knight, Alpha Kaba — who grabbed lots of rebounds — and Miroslave were huge for us today," - Hamada concluded.
Al Ahly Benghazi are scheduled to face New Tech Université on Wednesday, while Moanda BB will go up against Spintex Knights.
FIBA