APR Basketball Club suffered their second loss in the Sahara Conference after being defeated by Tunisia’s US Monastir yesterday.
APR Basketball Club aimed to win this game to increase their chances of advancing to the finals, which will take place in Rwanda. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The game started with a strong performance from US Monastir, a team many expected to lose due to their poor showing in the first three games, having lost all of them.
However, US Monastir, with nothing to lose, came out like a wounded lion, denying APR Basketball Club any easy access to the game. Ultimately, they secured their first victory since the tournament began.
After the game, American coach Mazen Trakh of APR Basketball Club said, “We must prepare for the remaining games because we want to win every match, and I believe that if we manage to win even one of our remaining games, we will advance.”
Thus, losing to US Monastir puts APR Basketball Club in a difficult position, as they now need to win the next two games, which will not be easy. The first of these matches will be played on Saturday against Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers, who won their opening game. The other match, the tournament’s final game, will be against AS Douanes, playing at home in front of their fans.
In another game, AS Douanes, playing in front of their home crowd, beat Rivers Hoopers 56-54.
Currently, Rivers Hoopers lead the standings, followed by APR Basketball Club. AS Douanes is in third place, and US Monastir is currently at the bottom.
The Basketball Africa League games in Dakar will conclude on Sunday, at which point the three teams that will advance to the final games in Kigali, Rwanda, will be determined.
They will join Petro de Luanda from Angola, Al Ahly from Egypt, Al Ahly Ly from Libya (participating for the first time), Cape Town from South Africa, and FUS Rabat from Morocco.
