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TimesLIVE
24-05-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Joburg's MBB one win away from Pretoria playoffs
Johannesburg's Made By Ball head coach Sam Vincent has attributed his team's revival in the Basketball Africa League in Rwanda to a growing chemistry in a squad that had little time together leading into the tournament. MBB produced an inspired performance to beat home team Armée Patriotique Rwandaise (APR) 94-88 on Thursday to stun the large crowd in the BK Arena in Kigali. It was MBB's second consecutive victory in the Nile conference and means that they are one win away from booking a spot in the Pretoria playoffs in two weeks. They can wrap up their qualification on Saturday with a win over Nairobi City Thunder, whom they narrowly beat in their first fixture during the week. 'We will see you in Pretoria in the playoffs,' a confident Vincent said. Asked what had changed the team's performance from the opening games against APR and Al Ahly, Vincent said they were starting to find each other. 'There's a growth in the team,' he said. 'We put new guys in together and though they are talented, it took time for them to get the chemistry. 'Now the guys are joking together and are bonding. You could see that on the floor. Jovan Mooring proved to be the key for MBB with a splendid 29 PTS performance that earned him the @visitrwanda_now MVP of the game. #BAL5 — Basketball Africa League (@theBAL) May 22, 2025 'They are covering for each other and that makes us a strong team now.' Playing in front of Rwandan president Paul Kagame, US import Jovan Mooring, who Vincent said reminded him of former Detroit Pistons guard and two-time NBA champion Isiah Thomas, put up a healthy stat line of 29 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the APR game. APR took a 39-38 lead into halftime, but key players Mooring and Teafale Lenard Jr turned on their A game in the third quarter, making important shots. Clutch three-pointers from Robinson Odoch Opong and Lebesa Selepe helped them gain the advantage as MBB ended the third quarter with a 67-58 lead. Though APR were resilient and at one point reduced MBB's lead to 81-76, the Joburg side held on and were able to close out the game. Vincent, an NBA champion in 1986, applauded Tennessee Tech centre David Craig, who played more than 24 minutes, finishing with nine points, 10 rebounds and two blocks for the SA team. The 21-year-old Craig is a player the coach had said lacked experience at the continental level. 'He's a big kid and eager to get better at basketball,' Vincent said. 'In the APR game, he really helped us offensively and defensively; he did a good job. 'He almost got a double-double in his stats. I was impressed.' The City Thunder team MBB will face on Saturday have yet to win in four games. But the Kenyans have had strong third and fourth quarters, as was seen in the MBB game, where the Gauteng team were helped by a dagger three-pointer to clinch the game with only three seconds remaining.
The Herald
23-05-2025
- Sport
- The Herald
Joburg's MBB one win away from Pretoria playoffs
'They are covering for each other and that makes us a strong team now.' Playing in front of Rwandan president Paul Kagame, US import Jovan Mooring, who Vincent said reminded him of former Detroit Pistons guard and two-time NBA champion Isiah Thomas, put up a healthy stat line of 29 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the APR game. APR took a 39-38 lead into halftime, but key players Mooring and Teafale Lenard Jr turned on their A game in the third quarter, making important shots. Clutch three-pointers from Robinson Odoch Opong and Lebesa Selepe helped them gain the advantage as MBB ended the third quarter with a 67-58 lead. Though APR were resilient and at one point reduced MBB's lead to 81-76, the Joburg side held on and were able to close out the game. Vincent, an NBA champion in 1986, applauded Tennessee Tech centre David Craig, who played more than 24 minutes, finishing with nine points, 10 rebounds and two blocks for the SA team. The 21-year-old Craig is a player the coach had said lacked experience at the continental level. 'He's a big kid and eager to get better at basketball,' Vincent said. 'In the APR game, he really helped us offensively and defensively; he did a good job. 'He almost got a double-double in his stats. I was impressed.' The City Thunder team MBB will face on Saturday have yet to win in four games. But the Kenyans have had strong third and fourth quarters, as was seen in the MBB game, where the Gauteng team were helped by a dagger three-pointer to clinch the game with only three seconds remaining. Daily Dispatch
TimesLIVE
18-05-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Joburg's MBB blow lead in BAL showdown against APR in Kigali
Johannesburg's Made By Ball (MBB) were left kicking themselves after they blew a first-half lead of 47-45 and ended up losing 103-81 to Armée Patriotique Rwandaise in the Basketball Africa League at the BK Arena in Kigali in Rwanda on Sunday evening. This was MBB's second loss in Africa's biggest basketball competition. Though there is still a week and four games to be played in the Nile Conference, they are now under pressure to deliver a win in the game on Tuesday against Nairobi City Thunder if they are to return to SA having qualified for the playoffs. City Thunder have problems of their own as they have lost their opening two games with 20-plus margins. Apart from international import Teafale Lenard Jr's 20 points, Jovan Mooring's 17 and Pieter Prinsloo's 13, none of the other MBB players made it past double figures against APR. This is no doubt something that will be on top of the agenda for MBB's head coach Sam Vincent.
The Herald
18-05-2025
- Sport
- The Herald
MBB's lack of experience exposed in BAL opener in Kigali
SA not having a competitive professional basketball league was highlighted by 1986 NBA champion and Johannesburg's Made By Ball (MBB) head coach Sam Vincent, as a reason that contributed to their Basketball Africa League opening loss in Rwanda on Saturday. The Gauteng side put up a decent fight on debut but lost 87-77 to Libya's Al Alhi Tripoli in the Nile Conference at the BK Arena in Kigali. He said they had not had enough intense preparation together as a group for the competition. MBB did show character in the third and fourth quarters and managed to reduce a 19-point game to five points. For the majority of the game, they seemed disjointed and lacked fluidity and speed offensively and defensively. Vincent admitted this was due to inexperience at the BAL level and the fact that his team are yet to find each other. Their international imports Robinson Odoch Opong, Jovan Mooring and Teafale Lenard Jr did not have many training sessions with the team as they rolled into the team just weeks before. That trio were the best performers for MBB against Tripoli. Mooring made 26 points, Lenard Jr finished with 20 and Robinson Odoch Opong managed 15. 'If, like some of the other countries, in SA we had a real strong pro league, where a lot of these guys could develop and play a lot of competitive tough games, we could learn how to close down tough situations. It would make a big difference,' Vincent said. 'A lot of the guys did join the team a little bit late. So that's a bit of a disadvantage for us, guys are still trying to understand who can do what. In critical situations. Usually, you learn that somewhere, rather than in a major tournament like the BAL. Another factor for MBB was the inferior contributions made by their bench, which was their downfall in the game. Their substitutions made 10 points while Tripoli had 32 points with many of those coming from their former NBA Academy Africa student-athlete Jean-Jacques Boissy, who scored 28 points, including 24 from behind the arc, got seven rebounds and three steals. Vincent said this was an area that needed to improve going deep into the competition. On Sunday evening, MBB play the home team Armée Patriotique Rwandaise. APR, who seemed organised in their attack, comfortably beat Kenya's Nairobi City Thunder 92-63. Their star Aliou Diara did it all for APR, finishing with 21 points, 12 rebounds, six blocks and four steals, with the team shooting 52.3 percent from the floor. Former NBA player Chasson Randle added 20 points for APR, who also recorded 28 fast-break points. Daily Dispatch
