KIGALI, Rwanda -- A superb performance from Pieter Prinsloo and a three-pointer from Robinson Odoch-Opong with 3.3 seconds to go gave Made By Ball (MBB) a crucial 75-74 win over Nairobi City Thunder (NCT) in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) Nile Conference on Tuesday.
Neither side can truly claim that they had a good game, but standout performances came from Prinsloo (30 points, 11 rebounds) and Teafale Lenard Jr. (20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) for MBB, as well as Evans Ganapamo (21 points) and Tylor Ongwae (20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) for NCT.
MBB head coach Sam Vincent, who won the 1986 NBA championship as Larry Bird's teammate with the Boston Celtics, said after the game: "There were really moments when I was having some real fond NBA flashbacks, because Pieter Prinsloo today - he reminded me of Larry Bird.
"No disrespect to Larry Bird, but some of the shots that [Prinsloo] hit on the step-back threes and the low post moves - he was sensational.
"I had some flashbacks with Teafale and a couple of those monstrous dunks that he had reminded me of Scottie Pippen," he continued - bringing up another former teammate. Vincent played with Pippen for the Chicago Bulls.
Vincent coached in South Africa for the first time in 1999 and his journey thereafter led him back to the NBA as Dallas Mavericks assistant coach and Charlotte Bobcats head coach.
The coach continued: "Getting this win is almost like a full circle. I first came to South Africa in 1999 and got involved with basketball. From coaching in South Africa, I got to the NBA and had a chance to coach.
"Having a chance [26] years later to come back and get this win - which is so important for what we're trying to do to get more exposure and promote basketball in South Africa - is very important.
"So, it's really exciting, but more importantly, we have to keep our heads down and keep on working and that's what we're going to do in the next couple of games."
Both teams headed into the game off the back of heavy losses to Rwanda's Armée Patriotique Rwandaise (APR) and Libya's Al Ahli Tripoli. A win was desperately needed to gain an advantage in the race for third place.
The top two teams in the Nile Conference will qualify for the playoffs in Pretoria, while the third-placed team will need to better Moroccan side FUS Rabat's record of 2-4 from six games with a -19 points difference in their home Kalahari Conference.
The first quarter belonged mostly to MBB, despite a spectacular dunk from Yohane Kabongo which at least gave the Kenyan contingent in the stands something to cheer. MBB led 22-15 at the end of the quarter.
Lenard Jr. proved difficult for the NCT defense to contain, while Prinsloo was in strong form in the paint and landed two early threes too. However, NCT chipped away at MBB's lead throughout the second quarter.
Former Milwaukee Bucks Summer League player Ganapamo had been below par in the Kenyan side's first two games, but appeared fired up this time - perhaps with extra motivation coming from playing against a side featuring his former Cape Town Tigers teammates Prinsloo, Nathi Sibanyoni and Lebesa Selepe.
Ongwae led the way as NCT hung in the contest and then Ganapamo sank a buzzer-beating three to send Bradley Ibs' side into half-time 33-32 ahead.
He then picked up where he left off in the third quarter with yet another three to start the half. He continued on his tear with two more within the opening three and a half minutes of the quarter as NCT extended the lead to 47-33. It was all NCT as Cheikh Diong landed a monster dunk and Ganapamo made a layup, putting NCT 18 points to the good.
MBB were not about to throw in the towel and managed to pull back to 53-46 as Lenard Jr. and Prinsloo continued to lead the charge. By the end of the quarter, NCT led 60-50.
Sam Vincent's side continued to crawl back into the game and when Lenard Jr. slapped the ball away before Ongwae could get hold of a pass intended for him and ran up the court for the dunk, it was a two-point ball-game again with around five and a half minutes to go. NCT's lead had been cut to just 62-60.
Ongwae fired back as only a captain would - with a three over Lenard Jr. at the other end - before Garang Diing's dunk extended the lead back to seven points. However, Prinsloo and Jovan Mooring led MBB on an 8-0 run as they retook the lead 68-67 with just over three and a half minutes to go.
Up stepped Ongwae again with five quickfire points to put NCT 72-68 ahead with 2:13 left on the clock.
The score stood at 74-72 in NCT's favour when a shot-clock violation handed possession back to MBB with just over 10 seconds left. They work the ball to Odoch-Opong, who sank the game-winning three with 3.3 seconds left. NCT tried to get the ball back up the court, but it was in vain.