ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - The 90-71 win makes Al Ittihad the third team from Libya to qualify for the BAL, following in the footsteps of Al Ahli Tripoli and Al Ahly Benghazi.
Al Ittihad’s successful campaign also marks history for head coach Fouad Bou Chakra, who has guided a second team to the BAL.
The tightly contested first game was played at a slow pace, with Stade Malien’s Rolly Fula and coach Amara Traore constantly reminding his charges to calm down
Isamel Romero played his best game for Al Ittihad. The power forward started off the game well, going physical in the paint and scored 10 points in the first quarter.
Keron DeShields, who finished with a game-high 25 points, offered support in the second quarter as Al Ittihad led 34-29 at halftime.
Fula and Makan Keita made early lay-ups to start the third quarter for Stade Malien, but Al Ittihad’s 3-point shots started to fall with Ivan Almeida, DeShields, Mohamed Sadi and Deng Deng connecting as the Libyan side started to take control of the game with a double-digit lead.
By mid-fourth quarter, Al Ittihad were in complete control of their destiny with the lead in the 20s.
Deng (19 points), Romero (17 points), and Sadi (11 points, 9 rebounds & 9 assists) were the other top performers for Al Ittihad.
This was Al Ittihad's second consecutive victory against Stade Malien in the current campaign. In October, they won 75–67 in Tripoli, Libya.
FIBA