ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - Nadi Basket matched JCA throughout the first half with a proper balance between defense and offense, controlling the pace of the game against a side that plays with high intensity.
However, JCA Kings, riding the home wave, found a way to create a little separation late in the second quarter through Aboubakr Gbane (10 points & 10 rebounds) and Mohamed Konate (8 points & 5 blocks).
“It’s a bit unique because once you reach the semi-finals or finals, other factors come into play: emotions and the high stakes involved. Naturally, this tends to somewhat compromise the quality of the play,” JCA’s coach John Douaglin said about the first half of game.
Attoule Alla’s corner 3-pointer at the buzzer to close the third quarter stretched JCA’s lead to 9 points going into the decisive fourth quarter.
Lassina Konate (10 points) cleaned up Mohamed Keita’s missed 3-point shot for a put-back and opened a double-digit lead for the Kings at the start of the fourth quarter.
“We managed to stay focused throughout the entire match. We faced a strong opponent who played to their strengths and caused us some trouble. At one point—in the third quarter—we were able to step up our defensive intensity, which put them under some pressure; we started coming up with steals and gradually wore them down,” Douaglin
The home side did enough to keep Nadi Basket Staoueli at bay, stamped by skipper Joseph Kouakou’s late psyched defensive display — swatting three shots — that had the crowd on their feet.
“Before the game we were excited and the goal was to get the BAL ticket and that’s what we have done. We pushed each other as a group everytime something happened or they tried to have a run,” Kouakou, who recorded 5 blocks, said.
Keita top scored for the Kings with 16 points and made 6 assists. Trevon Duval (10 points) came in handy.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Harat, who featured for GS Petroliers in the 2021 season BAL, turned back the clock, but his game-high 26 points were in a losing effort.
Staoueli will play Stade Malien in the third-place game on Sunday, while the Kings will play Al Ittihad in the West Division title game.
FIBA