PRETORIA, South Africa -- Despite an inspired performance from Raphiael Putney on his South African homecoming, Nigeria's Rivers Hoopers lost the match for the third seed at the BAL playoffs 89-81 to a US Monastir side led by an equally impressive Babacar Sané.
Putney starred with 28 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 assist, while Sané posted 22 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 assist despite only having 20:26 in playing time off the bench.
Playing his first game in South Africa since his acrimonious and sudden dismissal from the Cape Town Tigers before the 2023 BAL - which he said last year had left him short of $70,000 in unpaid wages - Putney's homecoming got off to a superb start as he drew some of the biggest cheers of the night with two dunks and two three-pointers in the first quarter alone.
Madut Akec had a strong start to the game too, while Patrick Hardy Jr. led the early scoring for Monastir. At the end of the first quarter, Rivers Hoopers led 16-14.
Sané and Firas Lahyani led the charge for Monastir in the second quarter, while Putney and Akec continued to shine for Rivers Hoopers with Peter Olisemeka doing important work defensively and collecting boards at both ends. At half-time, Rivers Hoopers led 36-32.
The third quarter got off to a cagey start before Putney got the ball rolling with back-to-back threes. Monastir fought back as the quarter wore on, with Osiris Eldridge, Deng Acuoth and Andrew Tarekeyi Edogi playing key roles to support Hardy and Sané with scoring.
Ike David Ugonna, not for the first time, slotted in seamlessly to play a key role in keeping Rivers Hoopers' hopes alive. Monastir led 66-62 heading into the final quarter.
Putney led one final charge to get the KingsMen back into the game, hitting a vital three early in the quarter. However, Monastir continued to spread the scoring and two quickfire two-pointers from Sané midway through the quarter extended the lead to 80-69.
Try as they might to find a way back into the game, Rivers Hoopers were repeatedly halted in their tracks, with Sané saving some of his best shots for the final minutes. The Tunisian side held on to clinch the win.
As a result, Monastir will face sixth seed Petro de Luanda in the late quarter-final on Monday. In the early tip-off that day, Rivers Hoopers will face fifth seed Armée Patriotique Rwandaise (APR).
"It was a good team win. We didn't say anything special at half-time... The thing is that this group that we have at the BAL hasn't played together since the last game [in Dakar, with a different lineup representing Monastir in local games in Tunisia]," said Monastir head coach Vasco Curado.
"I told the team that we need to be ourselves. We need to be confident... Even if we lose, it's better [playing on our own terms]."