AS Douanes guard Samba Fall says they cannot go back home without Basketball Africa League trophy

Samba Fall (2) scored 23 points as Douanes defeated Ferroviario da Beira on Sunday /BAL image

BAL AS Douanes guard Samba Fall says they cannot go back home without Basketball Africa League trophy

Joba Ogunwale 11:10 - 22.05.2023

He shot nine-for-13 from the field, including a near-perfect rhythm of four-for-five from downtown.

AS Douanes defeated Ferroviario da Beira 93-73 on Sunday to advance to Wednesday's Basketball Africa League semi-finals in Kigali, Rwanda.

They will now face Petro de Luanda, who beat Abidjan Basket Club (ABC) Fighters in a thrilling quarter-final clash.

Small forward Samba Fall revealed after the game that the team is in Kigali to win the tournament and take the trophy home.

"We are not a small team… Either of these two teams (ABC or Petro) must respect us," the guard said after the game.

Fall was speaking before Petro's win over ABC.

"We can't go home without the BAL title," he added.

Before Sunday's game, Fall had scored 19 points in five games but ended the day with a game-high 23 points as Douanes registered a 20-point win.

He shot nine-for-13 from the field, including a near-perfect rhythm of four-for-five from downtown.

"Beating Beira was important for us. It was a win-or-go-home situation.

"We had to bring our energy, and, thankfully, things worked out for us.

"During the Sahara Conference], I was tasked to focus on defense. Here in the Playoffs, I am just glad that my teammates keep feeding the ball and find me in the right situation to score."

Douanes are on a four-game winning streak and will be no pushover for Petro on Wednesday.

Having lost the first two games of the Sahara Conference, the Senegalese side recovered to win the last three and make the playoffs.

One of their biggest wins came in the final Sahara Conference matchup with US Monastir, and they defeated the defending champions to lock them out of the playoffs.

"We are aggressive defensively; that has been one of our strongest points right now."

Mamadou Gueye's charges also boast the leadership qualities of Marcus Crawford and cannot be taken lightly going into the final bend of this year's competition.