ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - Al Ittihad needed a late fourth-quarter surge to hold off a determined Nabaya Sofas to remain unbeaten in the Road To BAL 2027.
While the star-studded Al Ittihad imposed their superiority in the first quarter, which they led 26-16, by the last period, the Libyan side were celebrating every basket after the game had turned on its head with Nabaya leading for the majority of the third quarter.
Mohamed Sadi, who logged 38 minutes, did not shy away from the reason the side struggled.
“First of all, thanks to God for everything. We won the second game, and this game was hard for us. You know we struggled because we didn’t respect this team. We came, and we thought it was an easy game for us. So we made the game so hard for us,” Sadi said.
For Sadi, a BAL champion with Al Ahli Tripoli in 2025, it’s pleasing that the wake-up call came much sooner.
“Thanks to God we finished with the win, but this is good for us. It has happened early, and now we have to learn from our mistakes, and we get better for the next game, and we are looking forward to going to the final,” said Sadi, who finished with 8 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds.
While Ittihad’s defensive scheme had Sharif Fordham and Kyliann Rotardier covered, young shooter Junior Diabate had had the green light to launch shots. Diabate finished with an efficient game-high 25 points, going 5-for-9 from the 3-point range. Kabinet Kaba (12 points & 11 boards) also scored in double figures for Sofas.
Good teams almost always find a way to win games, and for Al Ittihad, it came down to experience on the roster. Down the stretch, Joel Almeida (14 points), Sadi, Keron DeShields (21 points) and Antino Jackson Jr. (14 points) hit some big shots.
“I think Keron [DeShields] provided good leadership,” head coach Fouad Abou Chakra said.
“You know we have great players, and they have got experience in Africa, so that helped us a lot. We made stops; we stopped their transition, and we stopped some of their top players. We controlled the fourth quarter, and that’s why we won the game,” Sadi added.
Al Ittihad improved to 2–0, while Nabaya dropped to 0–2.
FIBA