ABIDJAN (Cote d’Ivoire) - With a game to spare, First Bank of Nigeria secured a second win on Saturday, bringing them a step closer to the final round in Cairo, Egypt, next month. They defeated Energie Basketball Club of Benin 70–56.
Meanwhile, the host team, Friends Basketball Association (FBA), bounced back from a disappointing first game to beat CSA and record their first win of the qualifiers.
Here's a look back at how things unfolded in Abidjan on Saturday:
First Bank records second win
First Bank's victory came after a hard-fought battle against Energie in the first two quarters of the game, with scores of 20-14 and 16-8 respectively, giving them a 36-22 lead at halftime.
After the break, Energie showed determination to fight for every possession, winning the third quarter 21-17.
However, with Energie BBC displaying better play, Coach Julie Negedu of First Bank made some adjustments that put her team in the lead in the last quarter, resulting in a 17–13 points advantage.
This marked First Bank's second consecutive victory in the series.
Tobiloba Ogedengbe opened the scoring for the bankers and recorded 14 points and 7 rebounds. Meanwhile, Haminatu Ayodeji scored 11 points with an efficiency rating of 18, along with 12 rebounds and 2 assists.
Meanwhile, Energie relied heavily on Nassarath Mama. She scored 14 points, had 12 rebounds and provided 1 assist in 27 minutes and 47 seconds on the court. She played alongside Aku Afetsu, who scored 8 points, had 1 rebound and provided 5 assists.
In a game where the lead changed hands four times, First Bank proved superior to Energies, forcing the Benin champions into 21 turnovers compared to 17 for the bankers.
Furthermore, the bankers scored 48 points from the bench, compared to 15 for Energies in the paint. The Nigerian vice champions were 36/18, while First Bank had the advantage in second-chance shots, 18/5.
FBA recovers to defeat CSA
Following a hectic first game on Friday, in which the Zonal champions fell to Energie, the Ivorian champions staged a comeback in the home sides' clash, winning 57–37 in a game that was a must-win for both sides.
Coach Lemou Benga decided early on not to take any chances in this game, given that their rivals had always lost whenever the two teams played each other.
Despite CSA winning the first quarter 17–16, the second and third quarters were a different story as FBA recovered to win 19–5 and 15–7 respectively, creating a comfortable lead of 50–29 by the end of the third quarter.
The last quarter saw CSA fight back to a score of 8–7, but it was too late for them to win the game.
Although there were six lead changes, this was not reflected in the final score, which confirmed FBA's superiority over CSA.
Djanabe Sangare had a wonderful game, scoring 27 points, with 2 rebounds and 3 assists.
Two other teammates, Solange Ebonje and Zykera Rice, added eight points apiece. For CSA, Ndeye Send managed seven points, two rebounds and two assists. Amandine Bognini and Kasie Komyagou added six points each.
Energie will play CSA and FBA will play First Bank to decide who will join them in Cairo, Egypt.
FIBA