Ferroviario da Beira, Cape Town Tigers off to winning starts in opener of BAL Qualifiers

Jermel Kennedy

South African club Cape Town Tigers and Mozambican powerhouse Ferroviario da Beira got off great starts in their opening Group F of Basketball Africa League Qualifiers on Wednesday in Johannesburg. Ferroviario da Beira took a 26-10 first-quarter lead and never looked back in their opening game against Matero Magic of Zambia. Four players scored double figures for the Mozambique champions as they eventually beat their Southern African neighbours 81-51. Canadian shooting guard Jermel Kennedy (201-F-89, college: Lander) led the Mozambicans in scoring with 16 points, while their American point guard William Perry got a double-double with 12 points and ten assists. Forward Helton Ubisse (201-C-95) scored 14 points and helped himself to 16 rebounds, 12 coming at the defensive end, while guard Ayad Munguambe (197-F/C-96) completed the list of top scorers for Ferroviario da Beira with 11 points. The Zambians battled to contain the quick ball movement and spacing of the court of the Mozambicans. Offensively, Matero battled to punch wholes in the Ferroviario da Beira's defence. The Zambian club's point guard Chansa Mafwaume and Harrison Kafunga scored 16 and 12 points. The Mozambican club are one of the favourites to qualify for the next round and were happy with their good start. "We are happy we won. It is the first step to achieving our goal," said Ferroviario da Beira player Carlos Mainze Jr. "The majority of the things we did on the court went right for us. While there were some small things that we need to correct"
The final game of the day saw the Cape Town Tigers rout Mauritian club Roche-Bois Warriors. The Tigers dismantled the island nation club 116-49. The Tigers, who had seven players score in double figures, were led by American shooting guard Jared Harrington (198-G, college: Albany St.) with 21 points. Central African Republic international player Evans Ganapamo (201-F-94, college: PVAMU) contributed 20 points, while centre Billy Preston (209-PF-97, college: Kansas) dropped 17 points and forward Chris Gabriel contributed 16 points. Benjamin Myburgh (12), Miguel Ferrao (205-F-96) (10) and Benjamin Uzoh (191-PG-88, college: Tulsa) (10) were also contributors to the winning effort of the Tigers. The team from Cape Town seemed to have an unmatched athleticism and were able to score inside the paint and from the three-point arc. Warriors had answers for the free-scoring Tigers and will take this tournament as a learning curve. With the huge victory, the Tigers seem like favourites to grab one of the top two spots in the qualifying tournament. "I like the fact that our game plan is coming to fruition. Our international players could play, the chemistry is getting better, and we are playing a fast-paced game," said Tigers coach Relton Booysen. "We must improve our three-point percentage, but overall we played a good game. I think tomorrow we will look much better as a team."
Courtesy of: fiba.basketball



Tags : JERMEL KENNEDY, TOULOUSE BASKET CLUB, BASKETBALL AFRICA LEAGUE BASKETBALL