Tunisian giants US Monastir have sealed their spot into the quarter-finals of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) after outplaying Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers 99-77 on Thursday evening at Kigali Arena.
Monastir were the third team to advance to the knockouts of the two-week tournament after Rwanda’s Patriots and Petro de Luanda of Angola.
The Tunisians excelled on both ends of the court, scoring 45 points on 3-pointers and forcing 19 turnovers.
At times, it seemed as if Mourad El Mabrouk, Christopher Crawford and Radhouane Slimane were having a three-point contest. Slimane powered Monastir with a team-best 23 points, including a 6-for-9 from long range. El Mabrouk added 11 points and Crawford scored 8.
“Cohesion has been a key factor on our team. We know each other well. We won today, but there is a long way to go to the title game,” said Slimane, who was left devastated four years ago when he and his US Monastir team finished third in the 2017 FIBA Africa Champions Cup.
“We are now focused on this season of the BAL, that’s our focus,” the 6’8″ small forward said.
