Published: October 11, 2024
MONROVIA — Mighty Barrolle were beaten in their debut appearance at the NBA-sponsored Basketball Africa League (BAL). Libya is hosting the Western Zone, with seven teams from Liberia, Ghana, Benin, Ivory Coast, and Mali competing for the four slots to the last 16. The Liberian Champions lost 88-69 to ACB Fighters of Ivory Coast in their first game on Thursday.
Barrolle started nervously, losing by 12 points in the first quarter, 24-12. ACB Fighters won the second quarter by a 13-point margin, 26-13, but Barrolle improved in the third quarter, losing 19-17. The Liberia Basketball Association triple champions scored 26 points in the fourth quarter, but that wasn’t enough to challenge the Ivorian champions.
John Williams Jr. was Barrolle’s top scorer with 17 points. Senegalese Omar Samba and John Davis each shot 12 points. The match ended 88-69 in favor of the Ivorian champions, ACB Fighters. Coach Assad Fadel’s boys will have to come stronger in their next match against Benin’s champions, Elan Cotton, on Friday.
The top four performing clubs among the seven will secure qualifications to the elite 16, which will be held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in November this year. Angola’s Petro de Luanda are the defending champions of the competition.
The Basketball Africa League is a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and NBA Africa. Headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, the BAL builds on the foundation of club competitions FIBA Africa has organized across the continent and marks the NBA’s first collaboration to operate a league outside North America.
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