Sunday, May 12

APR 54- 79 AS Douanes

Injury-hit APR Basketball Club suffered an early elimination from Basketball Africa League Africa League (BAL) 2024 after finishing at the bottom of the Sahara Conference group phase games that concluded in Dakar, Senegal, on Sunday, May 12.

The Rwandan champions lost 54-79 at the hands of Senegalese side AS Douanes in a game that ended their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs that will take place in Kigali from May 24 to June 1.

APR also became the first Rwandan team to miss out on the playoffs since the competition’s inception in 2021.

ALSO READ: Adonis Filer faces 8 months out through Achilles tendon injury

With the win, AS Douanes closed their Sahara Conference campaign with a 3-3 record and secured the last playoffs ticket alongside top of the Conference Rivers Hoopers and Tunisia’s US Monastir who advanced as one of the top two third-ranked teams across all conferences.

President Paul Kagame and his Senegal counterpart Bassirou Diomaye Faye were in attendance of the game which closed the Sahara Conference.

Axel Mpoyo and Ntore Habimana, the only two APR to score in double digits, finished with 22 and 12 points, respectively.

Mazen Trakh’s side, which was without star men Adonis Filer and Obadiah Noel, both out through injuries, turned the ball over 19 times, 7 more than the 2023 BAL runners-up. It was their poor ball movement (12 assists) that hurt them the most.

ALSO READ: BAL 2024: APR’s playoffs qualification in danger after Hoopers loss

Teams that qualified for BAL 2024 playoffs:

AS Douanes (Senegal)

Al Ahly SC (Egypt)

Al Ahly Ly (Libya)

FUS Rabat (Morocco)

Rivers Hoopers (Nigeria)

Petro de Luanda (Angola)

Cape Town Tigers (South Africa)

US Monastir (Tunisia)