NAIROBI (Kenya) - Tanzania's Dar City have secured their place in the Road to BAL (Basketball Africa League) East Division Elite 16 semi-finals, remaining undefeated after dominating their final group clash against Ferroviario da Beira to secure an 87-78 victory.
The team coached by Mamadou Gueye enjoyed the perfect start to what was expected to be a close encounter, winning the opening quarter 25–11. The Mozambicans endured a difficult first four minutes, during which Dar City made a 13–0 run.
Beira made the semi-finals as the second-best side from Group B.
Although Youssou Ndoye and Nisre Zouzoua led the team's scoring with 22 and 21 points respectively, Solo Diabate's performance was the standout, consistently keeping his team in the lead with 14 points and 14 rebounds — just one rebound short of the first triple-double in the East Division competition.
Dar City established their lead in a quick four minutes, with Nisre Zouzoua, Solo Diabate and Deng Angok Yak Deng scoring three from deep to give the Dar es Salaam side an early lead that coach Nilton Joaquim Manheira would later admit cost his side the game.
Raphiael Putney scored seven in the remaining minutes of the quarter to give his side the advantage.
Beira performed better in the second quarter. Joshua Thomas reduced Beira's deficit to 10 points (36–26) with two consecutive layups.
Celio Chirombe made it 40–32, and Hassan Drame's dramatic hook shot at the end of the quarter made it 41–34.
With Beira closing in, Diabate led a 9-2 run that knocked the momentum out of them as they now trailed 50-36. Zouzoua's three-pointer with four minutes on the clock made it 63-42, a 21-point lead that was reduced to 15 (65-50) after a 24-16 run.
Beira played their best basketball in the final quarter, fighting to reduce the deficit to single digits at 80–72 and then to 85–78.
However, their 28–22 run came too late to make a difference and they headed to the semi-finals in second place.
"Today's game was up and down. It was a good win, but we still need to work on some things, especially our transition defence and rebounding. We have big guys on our team, and if we work on that and stay consistent, we should win on Saturday," Dar City's Putney told FIBA.basketball.
"It was a tough game. We came here aiming to win and top the group, but we lost focus at the beginning of the game and our opponents seized the opportunity to win. However, we will rest, watch film and make the necessary changes as we head to the semi-finals with a winning mentality," said Beira forward Ayad Munguambe.
FIBA