Kano Pillars 91-81 GSP
Nigerian side Kano Pillars have advanced to semifinals of the FIBA Africa Champions Cup after defeating Groupement Sportif des Pétroliers (GSP) 91-81.
GSP edged Kano Pillars 19-17 and 20-19 in the first and second quarters of a closely contested game respectively.
Shooting guard, Abubakar Usman went to work in the third quarter by knocking down the game leveling 3-pointer just 37 seconds into the period.
Christopher Ugboaja tipped in Abdul Yahaya’s missed jump shot for Kano Pillars’ lead and the Nigerians did not trail again in the third quarter.
Kano Pillars stretched their lead to 9 points (67-58) on Usman’s 3-ball at the start of the fourth quarter. GSP started chipping away and drew level (70-70) on Mustapha Adrar’s lay-up and the center gave the Algerians the lead with 5:02.
Yahaya scored five quick points to restore Kano’s lead and cruised to victory.
Usman netted game high 34 points and picked 7 rebounds to lead Kano Pillars. Yahaya and Ugboaja contributed 17 and 16 points respectively.
Abdellah Hamdini scored team high 18 points for GSP. Touhami Ghezzoul and Adrar contributed 16 points apiece while Abdesslem Dekkiche chipped in with 12.
