EGYPT’S Zamalek basketball team beat South Sudan’s Cobra Sports 80-63 in their opening game of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) Nile Conference at the Dr Hassan Mustafa Sports Hall in Cairo.
As 2021 BAL champions, Zamalek are playing host to six teams. The Nile Conference marks Zamalek’s second appearance on the international stage since hosting the 2022 FIBA Intercontinental Cup in February.
The White Knight’s top scorer was Ike Diogu with 17 points. Due to their experience, Zamalek’s players had the upper hand throughout the match although Cobra Sports gave Zamalek a few awkward moments.
Last season’s defensive player of the year Anas Mahmoud won the game’s MVP with 10 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots.
It was Zamalek’s seventh straight victory in the competition following their six successive wins in their title-winning campaign last year.
“Victory is nice but we have to work hard and be persistent to make up for our flaws as nothing is taken for granted. Every game presents its own challenges, and we have to win every single game if we want to win the title,” Diogu, a Nigerian-American, said.
The BAL Nile Conference is from 9 to 19 April.
Four sides from the Nile and already-concluded Sahara Conferences will contest the BAL playoffs in Kigali, Rwanda, in May.
Rwanda Energy Group (Rwanda), US Monastir (Tunisia), AS Salé (Morocco) and S.L.A.C (Guinea) advanced from the Sahara Conference.
In preparation for the championship, Zamalek hired head coach Will Voigt who guided Nigeria to their only African Championship title in 2015. They also added Diogu, a former AfroBasket MVP, Dominican Republic guard Edgar Sosa and Filipino-American Mikhael McKinney.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 14 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
Short link: