TRIPOLI (Libya) - The Ghanaian champions dominated Group B of the 2027 Road to BAL, achieving a perfect 3-0 record.
And what about the numbers they recorded in Tripoli? Simply incredible — but they are not satisfied. They want more.
In their opening Group B game against Guinea's Nabaya Sofa, the Knights staged a comeback to secure a 96-90 victory, which proved to be their most hotly contested game in the Libyan city.
They then overpowered NPA Pythons from Liberia 88–66, before concluding their three-game stint with a 92–71 victory over Benin's Energie BC.
The Spintex Knights will head to the Elite 16 in Abidjan next month, having won all three of their previous games.
However, a look through the history books shows that the Spintex Knights, who have played in all three of the last editions of the Road to BAL, are no longer a team to be taken lightly.
Since making their Road to BAL debut in 2024, they have won eight and lost nine games.
What will happen next? Take your notes, they say.
“Our goal coming to Tripoli was to make it to the Elite 16, no matter the obstacles. We needed to win all games. This was our mindset," said James Amotoe, who played a crucial role in the Knights' Group B successful campaign.
How did the Knights reach such an impressive qualification campaign? “We learned from our losses," Amotoe pointed out.
Spintex Knights' head coach, Selorm Thomas, was not afraid to express his feelings and ambitions.
"We are ready for the Elite 16," an adamant Thomas said.
"We are going home to recalibrate and adjust before continuing our work in Abidjan. We can still improve our ball handling and get better. We can’t afford to make the same mistakes in the Elite 16 that we made here."
Asked to describe his team's strengths, Coach Thomas said: "The main asset of the team is that these guys are selfless, as evidenced by the 27 assists in today’s game."
He continued: "We are very confident in our chances this year. These guys play for each other. We didn’t want to be in a position where we had to do the maths. From the outset, we just needed to stick to our game plan. "
The West Division Elite 16 is scheduled to take place in Abidjan from 9-15 November.
FIBA