KIBAHA (Tanzania) – In an immediate statement of intent, Urunani took a 16-7 lead in the first five minutes of their Road to BAL Eastern Division Group D match against hosts JKT and victory was not denied, since he signed an overwhelming 83-60.
Jean-Jaccques Boissyformerly of AS Douanes and resident of the NBA Academy Africa, led the attack in the first quarter, scoring 14 of Urunani’s 25 points in a period where the Tanzanian champions were limited to nine points. A change in JKT’s defense disrupted Urunani in the first five minutes of the second half, with a meager three-pointer, as the hosts took a 10-point run to reach 29-19. The Burundians reversed the situation for the men of Christian Mwakingiliwith a series of 14 points for a score of 43-24 after two quarters. A 26-14 in the third quarter allowed Urunani to secure the victory, despite a 22-14 from JKT in the last quarter, but it was too little and too late to make the difference.
The turning point of the match: Mamadou Gueye’s men took a 30-point advantage five minutes into the third quarter and JKT, who had an unconvincing defensive strategy, did not react, losing the match by 23 points.
The hero of the match: Boissy was the star of the match, picking up where he left off in the Burundian championship where he was named MVP. The Senegalese scored 14 points in the first period – 21 at halftime – and added nine points out of 30 before the final period, with seven points out of 37. He did not fail to shine from behind the arc , hitting 7 of his 12 shots. He finished with an efficiency rating of 42 for the entire game, to which he added six assists, four steals and as many rebounds.
The numbers don’t lie: It’s difficult to beat a team where only one player scores more points than the opponent in a given quarter. In addition, Urunani’s 27 points out of JKT’s 19 turnovers worked in their favor.
Conclusion : If JKT had maintained his form from the second quarter, he probably would have had a chance to escape. But they let themselves be carried away by Urunani’s speed on the pitch and their ball management suffered. Mwakingili’s protégés must now pull themselves together before facing the Malagasy GNBC.
They said: “Our defense wasn’t the best, but we tried to push offensively with the pick and roll and we’re happy with the win. Considering it was our first game, I think we executed our plan well game, but we’re going to watch the video and work on any areas where we fell short.” Jean Jacques Boissy, rear of Urunani.
“We faced an experienced team, with a size advantage, which hampered us. They play the same pressure game as us and it was difficult to make adjustments in that situation. We have a lot to do work before the next match”, Christian Mwakingili, coach of JKT.
FIBA
