RABAT, Morocco -- Mali's Stade Malien became the first team in Basketball Africa League (BAL) history to finish the tournament with a 0-6 record as they lost 79-59 to Nigeria's Rivers Hoopers at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sporting Complex on Sunday.
Raphiael Putney led the scoring with 15 points in a Rivers Hoopers side that claimed the win without ever having to dig deep and fight, as they had in previous games in the conference.
In 2023, Nigeria's Kwara Falcons finished with a 0-5 record. Previously, three teams went 0-3 in the 2021 bio-bubble.
However, since the format changed last year to include three conferences rather than two before the playoffs and one more game for each team in the round-robin stage, Stade Malien are the first to go winless.
Rivers Hoopers were not quite at their best in the first quarter, but still managed to race into a 20-8 lead at one point. Stade Malien, often best with their backs against the wall in this tournament, fought back to 27-21 by the end of the quarter.
The second quarter began with back-to-back threes from Ifeanyi Anthony Koko Jr. and Madut Akec to restore the 12-point lead for the KingsMen. They remained in the driver's seat for the rest of the quarter and went into half-time 44-31 up.
Even without Kelvin Amayo taking to the floor, Rivers Hoopers were able to spread the scoring across their team and took a 64-38 lead heading into the final quarter.
Rivers Hoopers finished the Kalahari Conference with a 4-2 record. Before tip-off, they were already assured of second place.
Having started with a comfortable win over Stade Malien in a scrappy game, they finished the conference as they ended it.
"The result of this year's BAL is my fault. A couple of my bad decisions [cost us], but at the end, there isn't really the infrastructure or capability to support us all year long," said Stade Malien head coach Boubacar Kanouté, who cited US-based players having commitments which coincided with the window in which Stade Malien needed them.
The club shocked Africa by finishing third in the 2023 BAL, but with homegrown prodigy Aliou Diarra having moved on along with the likes of Amayo and Rueben Chinyelu, who played for them at that tournament, it is back to the drawing board for Stade Malien.
The BAL airs on ESPN's channels in Africa (SuperSport 218 and 219, Starsat 248).