Following a 74-58 victory over Stade Malien on Friday night, AS Douanes have claimed their first victory in the Sahara Conference of the Basketball Africa League season three.
Inspired by support from the home crowd, Douanes gave them something cheer after two opening defeats against Abidjan Basket Club and Rwanda Energy Group.
On a night Douanes played without one of their star players Terrell Stoglin, they played with more precision.
"Stoglin is sick at the moment and could not join the team today we had to leave him out hopefully he recovers and comes back if not we might have to play without him for the remaining games,'' Douanes head coach Mamadou GueyeMamadou Gueye revealed.
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Chris Crawford led AS Douanes with a game-high 21 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists while Bryan Osei added 14 points and 6 rebounds for Douanes.
The Senegalese champions had more points from the bench 33-19 and shot better from the field 39%-32%.
AS Douanes guard Jean Jacques Boissy who came off the bench to score 13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, praised the home fans for their support.
“It was great to see our fans supporting us. We didn’t expect them to come again after our first two losses. They were incredible. They didn’t give up on us.”
Souleymane Berthe had 17 points the only Malien player who scored in double figures while Reuben Chinyelu took charge of the board with 9 rebounds added 2 steals and 1 block.
"We rushed the the game and we were not patient enough. First half was tough because we were not executing our plays and did the same thing in the second half. If we had a better offense things would have been different,'' said Chinyelu.
With this win, AS Douanes claimed their second win in the history of the Basketball Africa League, their first win happened May 17, 2021 against GS Petroliers of Algeria.
AS Douanes return to action on Saturday, March 18 to take on Nigerian champions Kwara Falcons while Stade Malien will go up against Rwanda Energy Group.
Image credit: BAL