KIGALI, Rwanda -- Nile Conference hosts Armée Patriotique Rwandaise (APR) got their Basketball Africa League (BAL) campaign off to a winning start, comfortably beating Kenya's Nairobi City Thunder (NCT) 92-63.
Aliou Diarra was the star of the show with 21 points, 12 rebounds, an incredible 6 blocks, 4 assists and 2 steals as the hosts ran amok against the debutants.
Earlier on Saturday, Libya's Al Ahli Tripoli had beaten South Africa's MBB 87-77 in a scrappy game. In the early stages, the day's late tip-off was a contest played with higher intensity, although NCT ultimately could not maintain that throughout.
After a closely fought first few minutes, NCT edged in front as the quarter progressed. However, back-to-back baskets from Dane Miller Jr. had APR breathing down their necks again. The Kenyan side led 23-22 at the end of the first quarter.
The lead switched hands back and forth in the second, but then APR took control as it progressed. NCT's Tylor Ongwae was the only player on either side to hit double figures in terms of first half points, but APR still led 39-31 at half-time due to a bigger group of players who were on song.
The early stages of the third quarter were one-way traffic as APR's star player, Diarra, hit top gear along with Youssoupha Ndoye and Chasson Randle. NCT fought back towards the end of the quarter, but APR held a 59-51 lead heading into the last.
The floodgates opened in the fourth quarter as NCT ran out of steam. Ndoye, Diarra, Miller and Randle all had standout moments in a 33-12 run as APR gave the home fans plenty of value for money in an almost packed stadium.
NCT's Albert Odero acknowledged after the game in the mixed zone: "I think we've got to do a better job of staying together.
"When they have a run like that - where they score a bunch of fast break points, dunks and the crowd is going wild - we've just got to stay together and I think when that happened, we just let them run away with the momentum."
Tylor Ongwae finished with 14 points - the most of any NCT player, but it was a dismal night for many of their big hitters, including former Cape Town Tigers star Evans Ganapamo, who scored one point from a free throw and went 0/16 from field goal shooting.
In Sunday's early tip-off at 2:30pm CAT, NCT will have an opportunity to save face, but it won't come easy against Libya's Al Ahli Tripoli. APR will face MBB in the late tip-off at 5:30pm.
The BAL airs on ESPN's channels in Africa (DStv 218 and 219, Starsat 248).