Al Ahly advanced to the Basketball Africa League (BAL) Playoff seminals after beating ASC Ville de Dakar, 87-76, on Sunday at the BK Arena.
The Egyptian side overturned the 3-point loss suffered on Friday to reach the final four.
Despite starting the game quietly, former league MVP Nuni Omot was the star of the show in the second half, fighting through the physicality to finish with a game-high 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. Zach Lofton contributed 19 points, with Alaaeldin Amr (14) also scoring in double figures.
On the other hand, Ville de Dakar were unlucky to lose star forward Axel Toupane to injury at a critical moment in the fourth quarter.
It was a relatively high tempo to start a low-scoring quarter, in which both teams shot poorly. ASC Ville de Dakar, who claimed the period 18-15, got production from all over the floor, led by Toupane (5), while only Zach Lofton (6), Alaaeldin Amr (5) and Nuni Omot (4) were on the board for Al Ahly.
Al Ahly erased the deficit early in the second quarter but mentally unravelled a bit when they did not get calls in what was a physical quarter, and Dakar edged ahead to lead 34-26 at halftime. Ville de Dakar, more often than not, double-teamed star forward Omot while daring Moursi Mohamed Khalaf, who was shockingly given extended time on the floor with Oraby on the bench, to shoot. Jonathan Jordan was the only other Al Ahly player to get on the scoreboard.
The Egyptian side started the third quarter with a 6-0 run and went ahead midway through the period as ASC’s foul flag went up. However, the Senegalese kept the same energy defensively and took opportunities offensively to regain the lead with under four minutes to play, forcing Pentelis Gavriel to call for time, after which he got the response he wanted from his players as his side led by a point (60-59) heading into the final quarter.
Toupane (16 points & 6 assists) was injured at the start of the fourth quarter on the drive, and Ville de Dakar started to fumble the game as their star point guard, Solo Diabate, denied the ball. At the other end of the court, Omot started to take charge, and Al Ahly led by 5 (74-69) with under 5 minutes to play, forcing Mamadou Gaye to call for time, but the side didn’t recover as Al Ahly advanced after an 11-point (87-76) win.
Al Ahly will take on the home side RSSB Tigers, who advanced at the expense of FUS Rabat, in the semifinals on Wednesday.
