ABIDJAN (Cote d'ivoire) - The Road to BAL 2027 Elite 16 West Division action tipped off at at Palais des Sports de Treichville with Libyan side Al Ittihad beating Nadi Basket Staoueli of Algeria 98-59.
Shortly after the jump ball, it was vividly clear that the star-studded Al Ittihad are in Abidjan for serious business.
With a roster stuffed with BAL experience including Mohamed Sadi, Antino Jackson Jr, Ivan Almeida, and Deng Deng, the gulf in class between Al Ittihad and Nadi Basket Staoueli was huge.
Al Ittihad started the game with an 11-0 run, forcing Staoueli into a time-out but on return it was big man Ismael Romero who showed off some point guard skills as Ittihad extended the lead to 15-0.
While offense dried a little bit after coach Fouad Abou Chakra went to his bench, not much changed for Staoueli whose defense couldnt match the offensive arsenal of Ittihad that is full of shooters.
In their first matchup of the season during the group phase, Al Ittihad prevailed against Nadi Basket with a score of 93-69.
After the game coach Chakra said: “Always first game is very tricky, but we already played with this team and we know that they made changes with two Americans, so we respect this team. But we had our team goals and my team achieved the team goal which is winning though we made some more turnovers than expected.
The 2025 BAL Coach of the Year continued: “We run and gun. We play defense, we run, and we have good shooters, so we can use our shooters correctly.”
“Also, this time we have very good talent from Africa like Ivan Almeida, AJ [Antino Jackson] and, Deng Deng. And [Ismael] Romero is one of the best centers who has ever played in Africa. So it’s a good opportunity for our team to focus on the Elite 16, which is a very difficult phase.”
In the second half, Al Ittihad were just going through the motions experimenting with different line-ups, half court sets and running transition as they extended the lead into the 30s. Coach Chakra went extra small in the third and fourth quarter playing Jackson Jr (and Nabel Alsadi), Ali Madi, Sadi, Deng, and Almeida.
“I wanted my 200 minutes to be well spread because tomorrow I have a game. The players are full of energy, they want to play more and more but the rotation was good. Sometime I put Almeida at the five position because the big guy cannot go out with him. He can shoot the ball, and he’s a great passer too. It went well, and it’s a very good start for us,” Coach Chakra explained.
Sadi, who finished with 11 points, sat out much of the fourth quarter but was on rebound and assist short of a triple-double. Almeida, Deng, and Romero each contributed 14 points while Keeron DeShields netted a game-high 17 points.
“It was a very tough game against a top team that can win it all. It was difficult to play defense against very many good players. With four-five recruits it was extremely tough,” Abderrahmane Ziad the assistant coach of Nadi Basket Staoueli admitted.
Next Up
Al Ittihad takes on Nabaya Sofas on Tuesday, November 10, while Nadi Basket Staoueli will be up against Espoir Basket Club in the first game of the day.
FIBA