PRETORIA, South Africa, Mar 28 – East African clubs Rwanda’s RSSB Tigers and Dar City from Tanzania laid down a marker at the sixth edition of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) Kalahari Conference in Pretoria, South Africa, after winning their respective games on Friday in front of a charged crowd at the SunBet Arena.
Tigers, who were a late inclusion after replacing regulars APR of Rwanda, made their debut on a positive note, upsetting 2024 runners-up Al Ahly Ly Libya 103-95.
The Tigers dominated quarter one, registering a 35-27 victory, quarter 2 was taken by Lybia after recording a 20-17 scoreline, RSSB recovered to win Quarter 3 at 26-19 while Libya won the last quarter 29-25.
-Dar City Cruise-
In the second game of the day, Hasheem Thabeet wrote history as the first federation president to play and guide his team to win, shocking hosts Johannesburg Giants at their home court.
Hasheem, backed with NBA experience, is the president of the Tanzania Basketball Federation, and played a crucial role in ensuring Dar City’s maiden appearance win 31 -12 in quarter one, 26-16 in the second quarter, 24-20 in the third before sealing the victory in the last quarter even though Giants won it 20-19 reaching a century mark 100-70.
Attention now shifts to the other East African side, Nairobi City Thunder of Kenya, who will be featuring in their second BAL.
The Tylor Ogwae skippered side will open their campaign against an already motivated Dar City at 4 pm EAT.
-Alex Isaboke is reporting live from Pretoria, South Africa-
