AS Douanes picked up from where they left off in the Sahara Conference putting up an offensive display against Ferroviario da beira in the first quarter final game at the BK Arena on Sunday.
On paper, one would have expected an even game between the teams from Mozambique and Senegal looking back at how they both made it to the Playoffs but that looked like a mirage when it was tipoff.
The Senegalese champions took a 28-23 lead at the end of the first quarter with Samba Fall the only player who scored in double figures, 10 points including two 3-pointers and two assists.
Beira looked different from the Nile Conference and could barely cope with the physical approach of their opponent from West Africa. Rather than close in the game, they further trailed by 15 points at the end of the first half.
Offensively, Beira went 24/72 from the field and 18 of 33 from the charity line in the game. They also turned over the ball 20 times in the game, a team cannot afford to lose so much at this stage of the competition it could be detrimental.
Beira head coach Luis Hernandez said: “We had horrible free throw percentage for the first time but that happens sometimes and it showed they have more rotation, are stronger and they play hard.”
Their star guard Will Perry who equalled the BAL scoring record during the Nile Conference struggled on the offensive end. He simply had a bad day and missed his targets especially from behind the arc. He made just 10 points, 2/9 from behind the arc but made up for it with 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals in 36 minutes on the floor.
AS Douanes looked sharper on offense led by Fall who made 9 of 13 from the field for 23 points in 33 minutes on the floor. Fall added 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.
He was not left alone to do offensive work because he had the support of Marcus Chris Crawford, Jean Jacques Boissy and Matthew Bryan-Amaning who all combined for 45 points.
