NAIROBI (Kenya) - Ferroviario da Beira opened their Elite 16 East Division campaign on a winning note, beating Group Phase rivals Bravehearts of Malawi 78-66 on Tuesday in Nairobi, Kenya.
Joshua Thomas dominated the paint during his time on the floor, shooting 10-of-15 for a game-high 22 points.
He was the only player to reach 20 points, and also contributed five rebounds, four steals and two assists, giving him a 25 efficiency rating.
After a relatively quiet opening quarter, during which he scored two baskets, the American shooting guard saw his side take an early 6-0 lead.
However, as he would later admit, the Bravehearts didn't give up, and Beira's quick start did little to silence the resilient Malawians.
Bravehearts recovered to take the lead at 8-7 with back-to-back shots from range, Ian Owen Limbe adding to his trey with just over four minutes for 12-9. Ismael Nurmamade added four for Beira to see the side trail 15-13 at the conclusion of the quarter.
The second period was an all-Beira show with Hilario Alfredo Malale's three-point play getting their comeback efforts going. A 10-2 run for Nilton Joaquim Manheira's men took the side for a 30-21 lead, Thomas adding four down the stretch to give the Mozambicans a ten-point advantage (36-26). Beira extended their lead to 41-26 in the opening two minutes but Faad Billy led Bravehearts in a 7-0 run that brought the difference down to single digits at 41-33. Thomas stole the ball off Limbe's pass after a defensive rebound, going coast-to-coast for a layup that restored their advantage to ten (43-33). Maxwell Ngonga's layup pulled Bravehearts to within five points at 43-38 before the unstoppable American combined with Nurmamade, Chandler Osamede Oriakhi for 53-40 heading to the final stanza. Nurmamade scored seven for 63-46, but the 17-point cushion did not stop the Malawians from chasing for a 26-25 final quarter domination, Ngonga ending the match with the only double-double on 17 points and 11 rebounds.
"We knew as long as we took care of business on defense, the offense would pick up. We played the same team in the qualifiers and one thing about them is they don't quit, they fight hard to the end. We were 20 points up multiple times but they kept coming back. Shout out to them and the coach, they have a great team. This was a team win, I'm happy we got it. Heading to the next match, we have to work on closing out games better. We let that team back in several times and we have to get our defense right, and take our chances on the basket,"Beira guard Joshua Thomas.
"It was a tough match up. They run us in the second half after a close game in the opening quarter. Going forward we have to get better with our defensive transition. We have to make better shot selections as we were rushing out plays, allowing them to take possession. Had we pushed the ball better and worked on our defense, we would have been fine. We are, however, taking it one game at a time. We have two more chances to play for the semis and we will focus on keeping our energy high as we weren't so bad in the opening match, and we will be fine," Bravehearts guard Ian Owen Limbe.
FIBA