Round 7 (Regular Season): APR beats Thunder by three after a very close game

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most exciting game of round 7 in the Basketball Africa League took place in Nairobi City. This derby game ended with only three-point home defeat of 4th placed Kenyan Thunder (1-5) to second ranked Rwandan APR (3-3) 77-74 on Sunday evening. APR made 19-of-24 free shots (79.2 percent) during the game. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when APR made 9 blocks. Worth to mention a great performance of Mali forward Aliou Diarra (200-2001) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 22 points, 17 rebounds and 8 blocks. Senegalese center Youssou Ndoye (213-1991, college: St.Bonaventure) contributed with 18 points and 8 rebounds for the winners. American-Kenyan guard Albert Odero (193-1997, college: Talladega) answered with 29 points and 5 rebounds for Thunder. Defending Rwandan champion maintains second place with 3-3 record having just nine point less than leader Al Ahly Tripoli, which they share with P.Luanda and Kriol S. Defending Kenyan champion Thunder keeps the fourth position with five games lost.
Very important is a home loss of third ranked South African Blue Soldiers (2-4) against fourth ranked Kenyan Thunder (1-5) on Saturday night. Host Blue Soldiers were defeated by Thunder in a tough game in Johannesburg 76-85. It was a great evening for American-Kenyan guard Albert Odero (193-1997, college: Talladega) who led his team to a victory scoring 23 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Eugene Adera helped adding 10 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists. At the losing side American forward Teafale Lenard Jr (203-2002, college: Memphis) responded with 39 points (!!!), 8 rebounds and 5 blocks. Defending Kenyan champion maintains fourth place with 1-5 record. MBB at the other side keeps the third position with four games lost. They share it with FUS Rabat and ASCVD.
An interesting game for Libyan Al Ahly Tripoli (6-0) which hosted in Tripoli 4th placed Kenyan Thunder (1-5). Leader Al Ahly Tripoli managed to get a 13-point victory 104-91. It was an exceptional evening for Mohamed Sadi who led the winners with a double-double by scoring 23 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists. Uchenna Iroegbu came up with 23 points for Thunder in the defeat. Thunder's coach rotated eleven players in this game, but that didn't help. Undefeated Al Ahly Tripoli have an impressive series of six victories in a row. They maintain first place with 6-0 record, which they share with Al Ittihad Al. Defending Kenyan champion Thunder keeps the fourth position with five games lost.

Other games in round 7 were not that significant. MBB beat APR on the road 94-88. Al Ahly Tripoli won against APR on its own court 106-102. MBB lost to undefeated Al Ahly Tripoli in a road game 73-102.



Al Ahly Tripoli - Thunder 104-91

An interesting game for Libyan Al Ahly Tripoli (6-0) which hosted in Tripoli 4th placed Kenyan Thunder (1-5). Leader Al Ahly Tripoli managed to get a 13-point victory 104-91. Al Ahly Tripoli made 16-of-19 free shots (84.2 percent) during the game. Al Ahly Tripoli outrebounded Thunder 47-35 including 16 on the offensive glass. Al Ahly Tripoli looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. It was an exceptional evening for point guard Mohamed Sadi (192-1995) who led the winners with a double-double by scoring 23 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists. Nigerian-Canadian point guard Caleb Agada (196-1994, college: Ottawa, agency: Blacktop Management) accounted for 16 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals for the winning side. Five Al Ahly Tripoli players scored in double figures. Nigerian point guard Uchenna Iroegbu (183-1996, college: Stony Brook) came up with 23 points and Eugene Adera (203-1997) added 9 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists respectively for Thunder in the defeat. Thunder's coach rotated eleven players in this game, but that didn't help. Al Ahly Tripoli have an impressive series of six victories in a row. They maintain first place with 6-0 record, which they share with Al Ittihad Al. Defending Kenyan champion Thunder keeps the fourth position with five games lost.
Top scorers:
Al Ahly Tripoli: J.Boissy 26+3reb+2ast, M.Sadi 23+13reb+6ast, C.Agada 16+10reb+7ast, D.Thompson 13+6reb+1ast, J.Adams 11+7reb+5ast, N.Badrush 10+5reb+1ast
Thunder: U.Iroegbu 23+3reb+2ast, A.Odero 17+3reb+1ast, T.Ongwae 12+5reb+2ast, E.Ganapamo 10, E.Adera 9+12reb+4ast, W.Davis II 7+6reb+1ast

APR - MBB 88-94

We could consider it a predictable result in the game between close teams when third ranked South African Blue Soldiers (2-4) beat their biggest opponent Rwandan APR (3-3) in Kigali 94-88 on Thursday. MBB made 24-of-30 free shots (80.0 percent) during the game. MBB had a 34-22 advantage in offensive rebounds. It was an exceptional evening for American guard Jovan Mooring (188-1994, college: UNLV) who led the winners and scored 29 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. His fellow American import forward Teafale Lenard Jr (203-2002, college: Memphis) accounted for 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals for the winning side. Worth to mention Mooring played also at Eurobasket Summer League, which helped get the job in pro basketball. Four Blue Soldiers players scored in double figures. Senegalese center Youssou Ndoye (213-1991, college: St.Bonaventure) came up with a double-double by scoring 19 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists and American guard Obadiah Noel (193-1999, college: UMass Lowell) added 23 points and 4 assists respectively for APR in the defeat. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. MBB maintains third place with 2-4 record having just eight point less than leader Al Ahly Tripoli, which they share with FUS Rabat and ASCVD. APR lost their third game in a row. Defending Rwandan champion keeps the second position with three games lost. They share it with P.Luanda and Kriol S..
Top scorers:
MBB: J.Mooring 29+8reb+5ast, T.Lenard Jr. 19+7reb+4ast, R.Opong 14+4reb+2ast, P.Prinsloo 13+7reb+1ast, D.Craig 9+10reb+2ast, O.Thielemans 4+4reb+2ast
APR: O.Noel 23+2reb+4ast, Y.Ndoye 19+10reb+4ast, C.Randle 13+1reb+1ast, N.Habimana 12+1reb+6ast, A.Mpoyo 9+9reb+2ast, W.Robeyns 9+3reb+3ast

MBB - Thunder 76-85

Very important is a home loss of third ranked South African Blue Soldiers (2-4) against fourth ranked Kenyan Thunder (1-5) on Saturday night. Host Blue Soldiers were defeated by Thunder in a tough game in Johannesburg 76-85. Thunder dominated down low during the game scoring 60 of its points in the paint compared to Blue Soldiers's 30. Thunder outrebounded MBB 49-36 including 16 on the offensive glass. Thunder players were unselfish on offense dishing 22 assists comparing to just 7 passes made by MBB's players. It was a great evening for American-Kenyan guard Albert Odero (193-1997, college: Talladega) who led his team to a victory scoring 23 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Eugene Adera (203-1997) helped adding 10 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists. Odero is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top summer league for players who want to play basketball overseas. Five Thunder players scored in double figures. At the losing side American forward Teafale Lenard Jr (203-2002, college: Memphis) responded with 39 points (!!!), 8 rebounds and 5 blocks and the other American import guard Jovan Mooring (188-1994, college: UNLV) scored 15 points and 5 rebounds. Defending Kenyan champion maintains fourth place with 1-5 record. MBB at the other side keeps the third position with four games lost. They share it with FUS Rabat and ASCVD.
Top scorers:
Thunder: A.Odero 23+9reb+4ast, U.Iroegbu 14+3reb+7ast, G.Ding 13+10reb+2ast, Y.Kabongo 11+2reb, E.Adera 10+14reb+5ast, T.Ongwae 10+7reb+2ast
MBB: T.Lenard Jr. 39+8reb+1ast, J.Mooring 15+5reb+1ast, P.Prinsloo 6+4reb+1ast, N.Sibanyoni 5+8reb+2ast, O.Thielemans 4+3reb+1ast, R.Opong 3+3reb+1ast

Al Ahly Tripoli - APR 106-102

The game between closely ranked teams ended with their biggest opponent Rwandan APR's (3-3) road loss to leader Libyan Al Ahly Tripoli (6-0) 102-106 on Saturday. Al Ahly Tripoli shot the lights out from three sinking 17 long-distance shots on high 51.5 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 27 assists. It was an exceptional evening for American point guard Jaylen Adams (188-1996, college: St.Bonaventure) who led the winners and scored 26 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists. Egyptian center Assem Marei (206-1992, college: MSU) accounted for 10 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists for the winning side. Five Al Ahly Tripoli players scored in double figures. American guard Chasson Randle (188-1993, college: Stanford) came up with 25 points and 6 rebounds and the other American import guard Obadiah Noel (193-1999, college: UMass Lowell) added 30 points respectively for APR in the defeat. APR's coach tested ten players, but that didn't help to avoid defeat in this game. The victory was the sixth consecutive win for Al Ahly Tripoli. They maintain first place with 6-0 record, which they share with Al Ittihad Al. APR lost their third game in a row. Defending Rwandan champion keeps the second position with three games lost. They share it with P.Luanda and Kriol S..
Top scorers:
Al Ahly Tripoli: J.Adams 26+5reb+8ast, M.Sadi 15+8reb, J.Boissy 15+4reb+1ast, N.Badrush 14+5reb+5ast, D.Thompson 13+3reb+2ast, A.Marei 10+9reb+7ast
APR: O.Noel 30+1reb, C.Randle 25+6reb+2ast, W.Robeyns 11, A.Diarra 10+6reb+1ast, N.Habimana 9+2reb+10ast, A.Mpoyo 8+6reb+1ast

Al Ahly Tripoli - MBB 102-73

Rather predictable result when leader Libyan Al Ahly Tripoli (6-0) rolled over at home 3rd placed South African Blue Soldiers (2-4) 102-73 on Sunday. Al Ahly Tripoli forced 19 MBB turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists. It was an exceptional evening for American point guard Jaylen Adams (188-1996, college: St.Bonaventure) who led the winners and scored 28 points and 4 assists. Egyptian center Assem Marei (206-1992, college: MSU) accounted for 18 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists for the winning side. American forward Teafale Lenard Jr (203-2002, college: Memphis) came up with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 11 rebounds and Pieter Prinsloo (208-1992, college: Marist) added 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists respectively for MBB in the defeat. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. The victory was the sixth consecutive win for Al Ahly Tripoli. They maintain first place with 6-0 record, which they share with Al Ittihad Al. Loser Blue Soldiers keeps the third position with four games lost. They share it with FUS Rabat and ASCVD.
Top scorers:
Al Ahly Tripoli: J.Adams 28+2reb+4ast, A.Marei 18+10reb+4ast, J.Boissy 17+5reb+2ast, N.Badrush 9+4reb+5ast, C.Agada 7+1reb+2ast, M.Sadi 6+6reb+4ast
MBB: T.Lenard Jr. 18+11reb+2ast, P.Prinsloo 11+5reb+4ast, J.Mooring 10+2reb+5ast, D.Pfachi 6+1reb+1ast, N.Mothiba 6+2reb+1ast, L.Selepe 6+1reb

Thunder - APR 74-77

The most exciting game of round 7 in the Basketball Africa League took place in Nairobi City. This derby game ended with only three-point home defeat of 4th placed Kenyan Thunder (1-5) to second ranked Rwandan APR (3-3) 77-74 on Sunday evening. APR made 19-of-24 free shots (79.2 percent) during the game. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when APR made 9 blocks. Worth to mention a great performance of Mali forward Aliou Diarra (200-2001) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 22 points, 17 rebounds and 8 blocks. Senegalese center Youssou Ndoye (213-1991, college: St.Bonaventure) contributed with 18 points and 8 rebounds for the winners. Four APR players scored in double figures. American-Kenyan guard Albert Odero (193-1997, college: Talladega) answered with 29 points and 5 rebounds and American forward Will Davis II (203-1992, college: UC Irvine) added 14 points and 10 rebounds in the effort for Thunder. Defending Rwandan champion maintains second place with 3-3 record having just nine point less than leader Al Ahly Tripoli, which they share with P.Luanda and Kriol S. Defending Kenyan champion Thunder keeps the fourth position with five games lost.
Top scorers:
APR: A.Diarra 22+17reb+3ast, Y.Ndoye 18+8reb, O.Noel 16+3ast, C.Randle 11+3reb+5ast, A.Mpoyo 8+1reb, W.Robeyns 2+3reb+1ast
Thunder: A.Odero 29+5reb, U.Iroegbu 16+5reb+5ast, W.Davis II 14+10reb+3ast, G.Ding 9+7reb+1ast, E.Adera 3+4reb+4ast, T.Ongwae 3+5reb+4ast