Burundi club Urunani can begin making plans for the South Africa leg of the Elite 16 tournament after finishing with a 3-0 triumph in the Group C of the 2022 Road to BAL qualifiers.
A strong second-half performance saw Urunani overcome Zambia's Matero Magic 72-53 on Sunday, October 30 at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
A game and team-high 18-points, nine rebounds by Landry Ndikumana and 16 points and four assists by Malick Ngenzahayo ensured the Burundi club left Tanzania with a perfect record.
Matero, who lost their opening two games, took the game to Urunani, with Elijah Mukelabai making a baseline drive for a slam dunk. They would take a 7-2 lead two minutes into the game, but Urunani captain Ndikumana dragged his team back with seven points of his own, which included a hook shot in the paint.
The forward then scored a three-pointer, then after receiving a pass, he spun his defender and scored the layup.
Matero still had the lead 10-7, but shooting guard Malick Ngenzahayo scored back-to-back three-pointers. The first tied the game, while Ngenzahayo's next three-pointer gave Urunani the lead 13-10.
Matero finished the quarter 19-18 up.
Ndikumana finished the quarter with 11 points and three rebounds for Urunani, while Matero were led in scoring by Mukelabai, who had eight points, two rebounds and two assists.
The final quarter of the first half saw Urunani finish the stronger of the two teams, Micheal Kazunguzibwa five points, while Morgard Ndagijimana scored four, which were part of the Burundi club's 15 points.
Matero kept themselves in the game with shooting guard Spoican Ngoma's spark in offence. His eight points were part of 11 scored by the Zambians in the quarter, but Urunani closed out the first half leading 33-30.
There was little to separate both teams with four minutes gone, Urunani added four points to their total, with Paul Ereng dunking the ball from a fast break, while Matero added a single bucket to the scoreboard (36-32).
The reintroduction of Ndikumana breathed some life into Urunani's second unit, as his presence led to seven more points (43-32). The Burundi club finished the quarter stronger with a 49-36 lead.
In the fourth quarter, it took a minute for the scoreboard to start ticking again. Ndikumana caught the Matero defence napping and scored a bucket from an inbound pass in the paint. Ngenzahayo also contributed four points of his own as Urunani began to pull away 57-38.
Urunani would eventually sail it to a comfortable 19-point victory.
Ngezahayo intimated that, while they were excited about their achievement, preparation for the Elite 16 would start immediately.
"We feel good, but we want to focus on getting ready for the Elite 16. We will work on all aspects of the game. Our objective now is to try and win in the next qualifiers, so that we can qualify for the BAL," said Ngezahayo, who was part of Burundi's New Star team that participated in last year's Elite 16 in South Africa.
As a player for Urunani, he'll take lessons from the previous year and apply them in November.
"The play in that tournament is physical. Another thing we have to improve more on is the IQ. If we don't work on that, then we will have no chance," said Ngezahayo.
Oilers sink hosts ABC
The final game of the evening saw City Oilers of Uganda hand hosts Army Basketball Club (ABC) a heart-breaking 71-63 defeat, meaning the Oilers take the final spot in Group C and will make their way to South Africa in November.
Germaine Roebuck Jr (Oilers) and Baraka Athumani (ABC) gave the fans at the Benjamin Mkapa indoor stadium a show to remember. Both players scored 31 points each. Roebuck Jr had six rebounds, three assists and seven steals.
Knowing what was at stake both teams came out firing on all cylinders with Roebuck Jr's 15 points in the first half for the Oilers. ABC's Athumani would not be outdone as he scored 14 in the same half.
Oilers had a 10-point lead (30-20) in the second quarter, but it was cut one by Mohamed Mwenda's two three-pointers (34-33).
The Ugandans would finish the second-quarter 37-35 up.
The third quarter was just as tense, and it looked like this clash would head for a photo-finish. The Oilers again tried to make a run, but ABC would find a way to cut the lead. Roebuck Jr. carried the scoring load with nine points for the Oilers.
Athumani scored six points, while Andrew Musongole contributed seven. The Oilers still had the 53-52 lead.
ABC took the game to the Oilers in the fourth quarter, with Athumani scoring seven points 59-53 lead, but Tonny Drileba answered with a three-pointer and captain James Okello tied matters with a three-point play.
The Oilers took the lead back 62-61 with a three-pointer from Drileba, after Athumani initially scored free throws. The Ugandan club would add seven more points with two minutes remaining for the 69-61 lead. Eventually, the maturity of the Oilers showed up. Now they have the opportunity to fight for a place in the BAL.
"We came out here with the objective of making it to the next round. It was a tough game and everyone understood how important it was for us to win. We dug deep and this is huge for us," said Drileba.