Jean Jacques Boissy was the star of the show off the bench in the opening game of the BAL Nile Conference at the BK Arena.
The Burundian netted a game-high 28 points thanks to a hot hand in the second quarter to lead Alahli Tripoli to an 87-77 win.
The start to the gam was cautious from both sides but it was Tripoli which settled in first and fast. Alahli had a 5-point advantage after the opening ten minutes, a lead they extended the lead to double figures early second.
MBB’s defensive coverage in the second quarter, especially at the three-point line, had a lot to do with the margin, coupled with giving away several second-chance opportunities.
At the other end, the South African side failed to craft an offence to get clean looks and were on three occasions caught on the 24-second violation.
Early in the third quarter, MBB trimmed the deficit to single digits but it didn’t last despite denying Boissy open looks from beyond the arc. Ball management remained an issue and will be a concern for coach Abou Chacra going forward, especially from Teafale Lenard Jr and Jovan Mooring who didn’t cope well with the physical game.
In the fourth quarter, MBB slowly fought back, powered by Robinson Opong who connected on back-to-back triples to pull his side to within 6 points (72-66) just over midway through the period.
However, Alahli scored on the next couple of possessions to hold off the run and ultimately seal a 10-point win.
“Hats off to them, they are a really good team,” Opong admitted. “Against a team like that, you can’t make a lot of mistakes and that is what we did today. We allowed them many second-chance points after a good defensive possession; they were getting offensive rebounds, and that really cost us the game,” added the Ugandan wing.
Jaylen Adams, despite struggling from the field, contributed 16 points, Naseim Badrush added 14 while Deon Thompson chipped in with 11 for the victors.
Meanwhile, Mooring scored a team-high 26 points, Lenard Jr contributed 20, and Opong had 15 in a losing effort.
“We need to do things better in order to get a better result tomorrow. You have to stay confident, you need to trust your work. We need to take care of the ball a little more, and obviously, our rebounding game has to be a little tougher and we will be better,” Opong, who is playing in his third BAL season, said.
The Nile Conference action continues on Sunday, when Nairobi City Thunder takes on Al Ahli Tripoli at 3:30 p.m. and MBB faces APR at 6:30 p.m. EAT.