A scintillating performance by American point guard Obadiah Noel inspired APR Basketball Club to a stunning 89-84 victory over Tunisian giants US Monastir in the opening game of the Sahara Conference of the fourth edition of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) on Saturday, May 4 in Dakar, Senegal.
The 24-year-old scored a buzzer-beater at the death of the fourth quarter to tie the score at 78:78 and force the game into overtime which gave a lifeline and ultimate victory to APR, in the game that had almost been snatched away by the Tunisians.
ALSO READ: BAL 2024: Who&039;s who in APR roster?
APR came into the game as the underdogs since they were only taking part in BAL for the first time, as opposed to the Tunisians who have been at the tournament in each of the past three editions from which they won one championship in the second season in 2022.
Mazen Trakh fielded a team with a blend of young talent as well as experience, with young players like Noel and Abdullah Ahmed playing alongside their experienced counterparts like Adonis Filer, Wilson Nshobozwabyosenumukiza and Dario Hunt.
ALSO READ: We are prepared like an NBA team - APR’s Mazen Trakh
The game was tightly contested from the word go, and often the two teams were separated by a point or two. The first quarter ended all square at 20-20 points, while the second, third and fourth quarters were only separated by two to five points.
ALSO READ: APR off to Dakar for Sahara Conference regular season
Noel was the man of the show after contributing a game high 24 points, including a buzzer beater three pointer that rescued APR after he forced the game into overtime before winning the thriller 89-84.
"Mamba mentality that’s what was going through my mind on that last shot,” the guard told Times Sport in a post-match interview.
He also contributed 2 rebounds and 2 assist while Adonis Filer and Axel Mpoyo added 24 and 15 points.
American shooting-guard Chris Crawford was the best scorer on the US Monastir side, dropping 21 points, while Ater Majok added 12 points.
APR will be back in action on Sunday against Rivers Hoopers at 4:30pm Kigali-Time.