PRETORIA, South Africa -- Armée Patriotique Rwandaise (APR) recorded the best-ever finish for a Rwandan team at the Basketball Africa League (BAL) on Friday, as they beat Egypt's Al Ittihad 123-90 to clinch third place.
An almost packed SunBet Arena watched as APR set the all-time single-game scoring record for a BAL team - beating Al Ahli Tripoli's 115 points against Nairobi City Thunder.
Even without 2023 BAL MVP Nuni Omot - out due to injury as per Rwandan journalist Damas Nkotanyi of the New Times - APR looked by far the better prepared of the two sides at the start. They scored the first 14 points of the game through the trio of Chasson Randle, Ntore Habimana and Aliou Diarra before Deng Deng finally hit a three to end the scoring run.
Ittihad, who had been unbeaten until their semifinal loss to Petro de Luanda, were clumsy in possession and APR's dominance continued throughout the first quarter as they took a 38-19 lead heading into the second.
Axel Mpoyo's fine shooting form ensured APR continued to dominate in the second quarter. Aside from a solid shooting run from Mido Taha, shots were not falling for Ittihad. By half-time, they trailed 74-34.
Ittihad brought some aggression into the third quarter, with Ahmed Aly Mohamed Ahmed leading from the front. However, the newfound intensity was not all positive as Deng Deng fouled out. A second consecutive quarter finished with an APR buzzer-beater as they took a 91-56 lead into the final quarter.
The embarrassment continued for the recently dethroned former Egyptian champions in the fourth quarter. APR went 26-46 from three-point shooting in a game which hardly saw them challenged by a team that - at one point in the tournament - had looked almost unbeatable.
"We weren't prepared for this game to be honest. We played a horrible game. It doesn't matter [how many points we lost by]," said Taha after the game in the mixed zone, saying that regardless of the challenges - including a packed schedule, a club the size of Ittihad should always show fight.
Due to having lost their national league's finals to Al Ahly, Ittihad will not be at next year's BAL - while APR's place is dependent on retaining their Rwandan Basketball League title.
Earlier on Friday, in an exhibition game, NBA Academy Africa beat a South Africa Select team 78-74. Senegal's Ousseynou Sambe led the scoring with 20 points, while Nigerian big man Lewis Uvwo continued his impressive form with 12 rebounds.
The action in Pretoria will conclude on Saturday, as Angola's Petro de Luanda face Libya's Al Ahli Tripoli in a 4pm tip-off for the BAL final.
Ahli Tripoli head coach Fouad Abou Chacra has at least one trophy in the bag, having been presented with the BAL Coach of the Year award.
The All-BAL Defensive First team was also announced, with Jean-Jacques Boissy (Ahli Tripoli), Obadiah Noel (APR), Caleb Agada (Ahli Tripoli), Teafale Lenard Jr. (MBB) and Aliou Diarra (APR) making the cut.