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TimesLIVE
18-05-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Joburg's MBB blow lead in BAL showdown against APR in Kigali
Johannesburg's Made By Ball (MBB) were left kicking themselves after they blew a first-half lead of 47-45 and ended up losing 103-81 to Armée Patriotique Rwandaise in the Basketball Africa League at the BK Arena in Kigali in Rwanda on Sunday evening. This was MBB's second loss in Africa's biggest basketball competition. Though there is still a week and four games to be played in the Nile Conference, they are now under pressure to deliver a win in the game on Tuesday against Nairobi City Thunder if they are to return to SA having qualified for the playoffs. City Thunder have problems of their own as they have lost their opening two games with 20-plus margins. Apart from international import Teafale Lenard Jr's 20 points, Jovan Mooring's 17 and Pieter Prinsloo's 13, none of the other MBB players made it past double figures against APR. This is no doubt something that will be on top of the agenda for MBB's head coach Sam Vincent.
The Herald
18-05-2025
- Sport
- The Herald
Joburg's MBB blow lead in BAL showdown against APR in Kigali
Johannesburg Made By Ball (MBB) were left kicking themselves after they blew a first-half lead of 47-45 and ended up losing 103-81 to Armée Patriotique Rwandaise in the Basketball Africa League at the BK Arena in Kigali in Rwanda on Sunday evening. This was MBB's second loss in Africa's biggest basketball competition. Though there is still a week and four games to be played in the Nile Conference, they are now under pressure to deliver a win in the game on Tuesday against Nairobi City Thunder if they are to return to SA having qualified for the playoffs. City Thunder have problems of their own as they have lost their opening two games with 20-plus margins. Apart from international import Teafale Lenard Jr's 20 points, Jovan Mooring's 17 and Pieter Prinsloo's 13, none of the other MBB players made it past double figures against APR. This is no doubt something that will be on top of the agenda for MBB's head coach Sam Vincent. Ntore Habimana set the packed arena filled with APR supporters alight with his three-point shot from downtown from the tip-off. But Prinsloo quickly responded for MBB. That back and forth in the first minute would set the precedent for the first quarter, where APR would score and MBB would answer. The lead changed hands four times, and the game was tied on four occasions as well. Unlike the previous game, against Al Ahly Tripoli on Saturday, the MBB bench showed up in the points column, with every player having at least a bucket. And that proved to be crucial for them as they took a 26-23 lead in the first 10 minutes. That was the first time the South African debutants won a quarter in the BAL. MBB came out of head coach Sam Vincent's dugout talk with an extra gear offensively in the second quarter. Prinsloo was at the forefront in pressurising APR as he knocked two consecutive threes in the opening minutes of the stanza. Those shots saw the momentum shift the visitors' way. MBB at one point took an eight-point lead, but backed by chants from the crowd, APR managed to make a comeback and took the lead again. Regardless of the loud cheers, the Joburg team kept their cool under pressure and put up a fight. Vincent kept encouraging his team from the sidelines. He was animated and sweating while walking up and down the touchline. He was rewarded as his side took a 47-45 lead to the break, stunning the Rwandan crowd, who the previous day saw their team dismantle Nairobi City Thunder by a margin of 29 points. Whatever APR's head coach James Edward Maye Jr said in the dressing room revved up the Rwandan side in the opening minutes of the third quarter. They quickly closed the two-point gap and accelerated their pace in attack. As in their first game against City Thunder, APR went into overdrive in the last 20 minutes of the game. Aliou Diarra, Youssoupha Ndoye and Axel Olenga Mpoyo were the masters in the attack as they all hit double figures in the individual points column. The first five minutes of the third quarter registered 59-52 in favour of APR and then stretched it to finish the quarter 73-59. The loud cheers in the stands kept on growing, and Rwanda's President Paul Kagame smiled as the writing was on the wall for the SA team. Any chances of MBB making a remarkable comeback in the final stanza diminished as they were let down by average shooting from inside and outside the arc. Daily Dispatch
