Williams' go-ahead bucket with two seconds left snatches Game 1 for Al Ahly in one-point BAL thriller

Donovan Williams (198-G-2001, college: UNLV) scored the decisive basket with two seconds remaining as Al Ahly Ly escaped Club Africain 88-87 in the tightest game of the BAL quarterfinal openers on Saturday at the BK Arena, seizing a razor-thin one-point aggregate lead heading into Sunday's decider.
Club Africain had fought back from trailing for most of the contest to take an 87-86 lead in the dying seconds. Tunisian coach Antonio Cainzos called timeout after Williams' go-ahead score and drew up a final play, but Oussama Marnaoui (196-G-1999)'s shot at the buzzer missed leaving the Tunisian champions on the wrong side of the finest of margins.
Al Ahly Ly took the court without top scorer and rebounder Jo Lual-Acuil (213-C-1994, college: Baylor), but Majok Deng (205-F-1993, college: ULM) and new signing Charlie Moore (183-PG-1998, college: Miami, FL) filled the void spectacularly, combining for 45 points between them. Williams added 17 points and six rebounds in a full 40 minutes, including the shot that decided it. Mohamed Sadi contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds in an all-around effort.
"Winning by one point against a strong Club Africain team who played really well is not so bad," Sadi acknowledged. "We now need to put this behind us, start again and focus on the next game, because the job is not done yet."
It was the first time all season that Al Ahly Ly failed to reach 90 points a reflection of Club Africain's defensive intensity and the heightened stakes of playoff basketball. "The playoffs are a different reality and our team is experiencing something new with a new coach," Sadi explained.
For Club Africain, Tunisian internationals Omar Abada (189-PG-1993) and Oussama Marnaoui each scored 23 points in outstanding individual performances. The Tunisian champions' bench outscored Al Ahly's reserves 19-2 a depth advantage that nearly carried them to victory. Mohamed Hadidane (207-PF-1986), the 2012 London Olympian, added seven and struck an optimistic tone afterward.
"Losing by just one point is nothing, so we're feeling very positive about our next game," Hadidane said. "We just need to improve our defensive play and we'll be fine. You can't win basketball games or championships without playing disciplined defence."
Both teams sit at 4-2 overall. The winner of Sunday's second leg advances to the BAL semifinals.