Basketball: Road to BAL 2024 – Group E |07 October 2023
Heat’s James Oliseh takes on the Comorian defence (Photo: Contributed)
Beau Vallon Heat overcome Ushindzi Club de Ouani in first match
Last season’s doubles winners Beau Vallon Heat yesterday cleared their first hurdle on the mission to qualify for the next round of the Basketball Africa League with a 82-60 victory over Ushindzi Club de Ouani of the Comoros in the preliminaries which are taking place at the Palais des Sports de Mahamasina in Antananarivo, Madagascar.
Four clubs from the Indian Ocean region are battling in the preliminaries – group E – for a slot at the next stage, known as the Elite 16.
Other than Beau Vallon Heat and Ushindzi Club de Ouani the two other clubs are Roche-Bois Warriors of Mauritius and Club Omnisport Police Nationale (COSPN) of the host country.
In yesterday’s match, though a bit casual in their approach, Beau Vallon Heat managed to impose their game in the beginning of the first quarter, taking a 11-4 lead, before the Comorians fought back, capitalising on Heat’s mistakes to close to 17-10, then 17-15 which sealed the first period of the match.
In the second quarter, Heat regained their momentum right at the beginning, taking a 28-20 lead , before extending it to 34-20, only to see Ushindzi closing it up to 35-30, before Heat scored two more points to win the second quarter 20-15 and the first half 37-30.
As it was the case for the first two quarters, Heat entered the third period on high momentum, stretching their lead to 52-34, despite resistance from Ushindzi who managed to close the gap to 54-42, before Heat won the third quarter 21-16 for a 58-46 lead at the end of the third period.
In the fourth and final quarter, Heat took a 63-50 lead and managed to maintain their advantage throughout, extending it to 75-52 before marching on to further extend it 82-60 to win their first match of the Road to Bal 2024 campaign.
Beau Vallon Heat will be in action again today, this time against hosts COSPN.
The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is Africa's premier men's basketball league. Founded in 2019, the organisation was established by both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and International Basketball Federation (Fiba).
Each season typically runs from March to May, and the current format consists of 12 teams.
Each of the teams have to qualify through their domestic competition, a meritocratic system similar to the format of the UEFA Champions League.
Six teams qualify directly, while six others have to play in the Road to BAL.
The season exists out of the conference stage and features playoffs to determine the champions, who automatically qualify for the FIBA Intercontinental Cup.
The first season was held in 2021 and thus far, three champions have won the competition.
Each BAL season consists of 12 teams.
In the regular season, the 12 teams are divided into two conferences (Sahara Conference and Nile Conference), in which they play five games each.
The four highest-placed teams of each conference advance to the playoffs, which is a single-elimination tournament which decides the BAL champion.
Beau Vallon Heat at the Road to Bal 2023
Timmy Adam, Alex Baron, James Oliseh, Faizel Naiken, Aurelien Meme, Damien Chang-Time, Julio Duval, Dylan Arrisol, Ervin Agathine, Denzel Mutyambizi, Khris Andre, Alao Solomon, Gerald Bristol, and Stephen Malbrook (players), Steven Andre (head coach), Gregoire Scholastique (assistant coach)
Roland Duval
