The Tunisian champions stepped on the floor in a desperation mode, playing a suffocating defense that prevented SLAC from executing their game plan in the offense.
The Tunisian champions stepped on the floor in a desperation mode, playing a suffocating defense that prevented SLAC from executing their game plan in the offense.
It came as no surprise that Obekpa admitted that US Monastir “outplayed us from the beginning to the end,” the Nigerian international player said to bal.nba.com after his team’s 76-55 defeat.
SLAC didn’t look the same team that upset hosts DUC in the Sahara Conference opener on Saturday.
They looked idealess and lacked aggressiveness on both ends of the floor.
But what hurt Zeljko Zecevic’s team the most was US Monastir’s aggressive defense which forced SLAC into several shot clock violations.
US Monastir’s full court defense pressure paved the way for the Tunisian side’s second win in as many games.
And having SLAC’s leading scorer Chris Crawford as their main target worked to perfection.
Crawford picked his third foul with five minutes left in the second quarter, and that hindered SLAC’s chances to stay in the game.
With Zecevic forced to take Crawford out of the game to protect him from reaching his foul limit, US Monastir not only kept SLAC scoreless for the remaining five minutes of the first half, but they also used a 10-0 run to go to the locker room with a comfortable 44-25 lead.
The question was whether or not SLAC would pull off an improbable come back.
SLAC cut the point-gap to 55-40 with 2:13 minutes left in the third quarter, but that was the closest they got to US Monastir as the Tunisians went on to lead by as many as 23 points at some stage in the game.
“It’s just a learning process. Now we go back to watching film, training and get ready for the next game. We just need to correct our mistakes and fix them,” said Obekpa who finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
By halftime Majok had already contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds, his second double-double in the Sahara Conference before adding four more rebounds to help US Monastir improve to 2-0 in the Sahara Conference.
“It’s always fun. We have been playing against each other for years now. That’s my brother. It’s always fun battling against him,” Obekpa said.
It’s not just cliché to refer to Radhouane Slimane’s age as just a number. The man who turns 42 in August buried 3 of his 6 three-point attempts to lead his team with 15 points.
Oussama Marnaoui was 3-for-6 from behind the arc to finish with 13 points and Firas Lahyani was 5-for-8 from the floor to contribute 13 points for US Monastir.
With 3 minutes left and trailing by 20, SLAC Zecevic took his starting line-up out of the game, a sign of surrender.
“I was given a defensive role today to guard Chris Crawford to prevent him from scoring. I am glad that I got the job done,” Marnaoui said.
“We have tried to keep him away from screens because he likes shooting off pick-and-roll, and he doesn’t like to be under full court defensive pressure.”
With three games left to play in the Sahara Conference and a playoff spot looking more and more certain, Marnaoui insisted that “It was a great a win for us. It’s important for the team’s mindset moving forward in the competition. We are glad that we got the job done and I am excited to have been able to help (the team) stay perfect.”
BASKETBALL AFRICA LEAGUE'S SAHARA CONFERENCE GAMES - March 8 Game Recap:
- S.L.A.C vs. US Monastir 55-76
- Ferroviário da Beira vs. DUC 98-92
TODAY’S GAMES:
- 5:30 p.m. GMT – REG vs. S.L.A.C
- 9:00 p.m. GMT – Ferroviário da Beira vs. AS Salé
Each game will be followed by a postgame media availability on ZOOM with the dial-in details to be shared ahead of each game. For game schedule, standings and rosters, visit https://bal.nba.com/.
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