ABC is again Ivory Coast men champion, they have beat Phenix basket club de Cocody 2-0 (61-31 and 75-55) in the final play off.
A thing is certain, there is no party between the ABC and Phoenix. The champion of the Ivory Coast, that groups the best players of basketball of the place, does not have more adversary in the championship since Africa Sports and the Asec no longer are more than the shade of they themselves. 'It is the test that the ABC is the only master in the Ivory Coast.
ABC is again Ivory Coast men champion, they have beat Phenix basket club de Cocody 2-0 (61-31 and 75-55) in the final play off. A thing is certain, there is no party between the ABC and Phoenix. The champion of the Ivory Coast, that groups the best players of basketball of the place, does not have more adversary in the championship since Africa Sports and the Asec no longer are more than the shade of they themselves. 'It is the test that the ABC is the only master in the Ivory Coast.' Now, it is necessary to prepare itself to go to reconquers it of the continent ', considers the instructor of the ALPHABET.' Phoenix, that finishes to vicechampion of the Ivory Coast, does not blush. On the other hand, the sponsor of the club, announces a great reception in the next days to greet the great result of the team. 'they have of the merit and we are going to continue maintaining them', we declared Mr. Kety Soumahoro, after the game.
Mohamed Kone (211-C-81, college: Valparaiso) and his team Roanne couldn't handle Sluc Nancy in the final of French Pro A. They suffered serious defeat 84-53 what means that Roanne didn't succeed to defend championship title. Everything started good for Roanne's players as they opened the game with 5-0 run. Their happy moments couldn't last long as Nancy immediately answered setting the score on 6-5.
Mohamed Kone (211-C-81, college: Valparaiso) and his team Roanne couldn't handle Sluc Nancy in the final of French Pro A. They suffered serious defeat 84-53 what means that Roanne didn't succeed to defend championship title. Everything started good for Roanne's players as they opened the game with 5-0 run. Their happy moments couldn't last long as Nancy immediately answered setting the score on 6-5. Cone and his teammates couldn't stop Jeff Greer during the first ten minutes as he totally smashed them netting 15 points. So after nice beginning Roanne had deficit of 9 points at the end of the first stanza. The second one started badly for Cone's team as Amagou hit 3-pointer for plus 13. Visitors weren't able to get any closer so its minus became even bigger after 20 minutes, 45-34. Roanne totally lost control on this game in third frame scoring just 9 points. They had big problems with running the plays as Nancy improved its defense rapidly. Thanks to Jeff Greer and Victor Samcnik Nancy resolved question about the winner with more than 10 minutes before the end. They went into the last frame with advantage of 23 points and later just made it even bigger.
Mohamed Kone spent 21 minutes on court collecting 5 points and 7 boards. He struggled with his shot today adding just 1 of 5 attempts from the field and 1 of 2 from behind the arc. Kone had 26 appearances for Roanne in Pro A this year averaging 6 points and 4 rebounds. He started the season in another Pro A team Chalone but in January he joined Roanne.
Mohamed Kone (211-C-81, college: Valparaiso) and his Roanne held off the top-ranked Le Mans in French LNB to reach the Final. A sizzling performance from Marc Salyers (205-F-79, college: Samford) allowed Roanne to hold off the LNB top seed Le Mans and enter the Final. Roanne managed to stay in the race in Game 2 routing the regular season champions at home but the Le Mans hosted the third decisive game and hoped to seal the winning outcome before the supportive home crowd.
Mohamed Kone (211-C-81, college: Valparaiso) and his Roanne held off the top-ranked Le Mans in French LNB to reach the Final. A sizzling performance from Marc Salyers (205-F-79, college: Samford) allowed Roanne to hold off the LNB top seed Le Mans and enter the Final. Roanne managed to stay in the race in Game 2 routing the regular season champions at home but the Le Mans hosted the third decisive game and hoped to seal the winning outcome before the supportive home crowd. The teams kept it close in the opening minutes with defense prevailing. The hosts outscored Roanne 15:13 in the first frame. But Roanne answered with an impressive performance right after the first intermission. The visitors accounted for 29 points in the second quarter holding the opponents to just 14. Roanne piled up a comfortable 42:29 lead at halftime. Le Mans were obviously take aback as they could not get things going the right way in the third frame. Roanne easily maintained the distance and headed into the fourth stanza 15 points ahead. Le Mans were completely outmuscled under the rims as Roanne kept them in the field. The hosts however shot just 25% from the beyond the arc and the visitors easily breezed to an overall victory. Le Mans never threatened the deficit and Roanne joined Nancy in the LNB Final. Marc Salyers led the charge with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Brion Rush added 11 points, while Pape Badiane secured 10 in a win. Sam Clancy and Nebojsa Bogavac answered with 10 points apiece for Le Mans. Philip Ricci chipped in 9 points in a losing case. The winners outrebounded Le Mans 40:27 and forced those to as many as 20 turnovers. Mohamed Kone posted 5 points (2/4 FG, 1/1 3pt) and 5 boards in 11 minutes of action. He averages 6.3 points and 3.8 boards per game in the season with Roanne. Meanwhile another Ivorian Alain Koffi (205-C-83) finished the season with Le Mans. In this game he registered 4 points (1/2 FG, 2/2 FT) and 5 boards. He posted 8.8 points and 6.3 caroms per appearance in the season.
Mohamed Kone beats Alain Koffi in game #2 of French semis
After great win in the first game of French Pro A play-off semifinals, Alain Koffi (205-C-83) and his Le Mans suffered road defeat against Roanne. Thus the score in the play-off semifinal series is tied on 1-1.
Top-ranked team of regular season Le Mans had a fantastic start. They let Roanne to score only 9 points in the first stanza. It was 18-9 for Le Mans after first ten minutes. Alain Koffi and his teammates continued at the same rhythm in the second frame also.
After great win in the first game of French Pro A play-off semifinals, Alain Koffi (205-C-83) and his Le Mans suffered road defeat against Roanne. Thus the score in the play-off semifinal series is tied on 1-1.
Top-ranked team of regular season Le Mans had a fantastic start. They let Roanne to score only 9 points in the first stanza. It was 18-9 for Le Mans after first ten minutes. Alain Koffi and his teammates continued at the same rhythm in the second frame also. They went on the half time with comfortable advantage of 7 points. Third quarter brought totally different picture. Le Mans played it without attitude which resulted with only 6 points for 10 minutes. On the other side Roanne netted 20 which automatically gave them an advantage of 7 points before the last frame. During those 10 minutes Le Mans did not have power even to threat. Roanne picked up where they left of in the third period finishing game with confident 73-60.
Alain Koffi of Le Mans netted 13 points for 26 minutes. He had nice shot percentage scoring 6 of 9 attempts from the field and 1/1 FTs. At the same time he grabbed 4 rebounds reaching index value 15. Mohamed Kone (211-C-81, college: Valparaiso) scored 3 points for the winners.
The decisive game will be played on Saturday at Le Mans' home court.
Mohamed Kone and Ali Traore saw each other in French Quarterfinals as Roanne beat Le Havre. Mohamed Kone (211-C-81, college: Valparaiso) and his Roanne completed the quarterfinal series against Le Havre with a cruising win at home yesterday in France. Thus Roanne advanced into the semifinal stage where they would meet the regular season champions Le Mans. Le Havre quite surprisingly stormed past Roanne at home on May 23 but this was just a flash of intrigue that was quickly quelled by Roanne.
Mohamed Kone and Ali Traore saw each other in French Quarterfinals as Roanne beat Le Havre. Mohamed Kone (211-C-81, college: Valparaiso) and his Roanne completed the quarterfinal series against Le Havre with a cruising win at home yesterday in France. Thus Roanne advanced into the semifinal stage where they would meet the regular season champions Le Mans. Le Havre quite surprisingly stormed past Roanne at home on May 23 but this was just a flash of intrigue that was quickly quelled by Roanne. The LNB fourth-ranked side exploded with 30 points in the starting frame of the third decisive encounter to claim a comfortable lead. Le Havre could not recover trailing by 18 points after the starting stanza. They nevertheless refused to give up and fought bravely in the next frames. The margin was stretched to 12 points at halftime. But Roanne having an overwhelming dominance in the paint kept forcing the issue. They widened the damage building a 16-point buffer heading into the fourth period. Le Havre ran out of steam and finding no answers for the onslaught from the hosts collapsed in the fourth term. Roannes relied on a well-balanced offensive effort. Mohamed Kone, Pape Badiane and Marc Salyers scored 16 points apiece to lead Roanne. Brion Rush contributed 12 points and 6 boards for the winners. Marcellus Sommerville answered with game-high 26 points for Le Havre. Ali Traore (205-C-85, college: S.Idaho JC) and John Cox scored 10 points apiece in defeat. The hosts outrebounded their opponents 50:35 and forced those to 24 turnovers. Roanne shot impressive 50% from the field, while Le Havre managed just 38% of field goals. The semifinal stage tips off on Saturday.
Herve Lamizana (208-F/C-81, college: Rutgers) and his Al Wasl stepped on the pedestal as they outgunned Riyadi in the Bronze medals final in Asia Champions Cup. The victory marked a historic event for the Emirates basketball as Wasl became the first ever team from the country to grab medals at the Asia Champions Cup. Riyadi meanwhile returned to the event after a 10-year pause and failed to overcome the result that achieved in Kuala Lumpur in 1998 (Bronze medals).
Herve Lamizana (208-F/C-81, college: Rutgers) and his Al Wasl stepped on the pedestal as they outgunned Riyadi in the Bronze medals final in Asia Champions Cup. The victory marked a historic event for the Emirates basketball as Wasl became the first ever team from the country to grab medals at the Asia Champions Cup. Riyadi meanwhile returned to the event after a 10-year pause and failed to overcome the result that achieved in Kuala Lumpur in 1998 (Bronze medals). The Lebanese team got to an aggressive start and cleared off to a 29:20 distance at the end of the first frame. However Ivorian import Herve Lamizana stepped up for Wasl and paced them back into fight. Wasl trimmed the gap to 3 points at halftime as the tension mounted. The teams traded baskets in what turned out to be a seesaw third frame. Still Wasl found the way to jump in front as they grabbed a 65:63 lead heading into the fourth stanza. The pressure escalated on both sides in the dying moments but Herve Lamizana was superb as he kept it cool and doomed Riyadi in the crunch time. The Ivorian tallied game-high 30 points to propel Wasl to a historic third-place finish. Ibraheem Ahmad contributed 22 points and Rashed Al-Zaabi launched 15 for the winners. Joe Vogel answered with 28 points for Riyadi. Fadi El Khatib came up with 26 points in a losing case. So the 19th Edition of Asia Champions Cup was successfully completed with Wasl suffering the only loss at the tournament and registering an impressive record as for the teams that was widely taken as underdogs before the competition.
Josiah Ahmedu, Dodan Warriors official beat-up City League Secretary
..For Walking Over Warriors Academy
An official of Dodan Warriors Basketball Project, Josiah Ahmedu Tuesday threw decorum to the wind when he inflicted barrages of slaps, kicks and blows on the League Secretary of the Lagos City League, Olusegun Ikuesan for supervising a walk-over the Warriors Academy Monday.
..For Walking Over Warriors Academy
An official of Dodan Warriors Basketball Project, Josiah Ahmedu Tuesday threw decorum to the wind when he inflicted barrages of slaps, kicks and blows on the League Secretary of the Lagos City League, Olusegun Ikuesan for supervising a walk-over the Warriors Academy Monday.
Ahmedu who was not at the match venue on when the said walk-over ceremony was performed by the referees first sent an offensive short message service (SMS) to the City League official only to show up on Tuesday during the premier league match between Kano Pillars basketball club and Islanders basketball club at the Sports Hall of the Lagos National Stadium.
The incident sent many wondering when its now fashionable to settle sport matter with outright hooliganism from teams official who ought to know the right thing to do to seek audience with organizers.
The Warriors Academy alongside three other teams (Chariot basketball club and Ikorodu Kings basketball club) failed to complied with simple registration procedure for the league even when the Lagos State Basketball Association, LSBBA, organizers of the city league had allowed each teams to play two league matches with repeated warning that teams that failed to returned its registration forms and have its players licenses processed to do so or risk forfeiture of their third game as punishment.
The 4th edition of the City League started on April 30 and still the enraged Warriors official says the period is not enough for teams to complete their registration.
Ikuesan who combine the job of the City League Secretary with that of the head of the media committee of the LSBBA is also a Correspondent with fiba.com and fiba-afrique.org.
The big teams continued their winning streaks week 4 in the 2007/2008 Ivory Coast
National league season.
In the female games, the new comers lost woefully: TIGERS BC lost 4: 70 to IVESTP;
STELLA BC lost 19: 107 to CSA; FBA lost 35 : 82 to ABC and OBC beat TBC Ermees 62 : 42
In the men category, ABC recorded their 4th straight victory by defeating highly rated GENERATION BC
46 : 39.
The big teams continued their winning streaks week 4 in the 2007/2008 Ivory Coast National league season.
In the female games, the new comers lost woefully: TIGERS BC lost 4: 70 to IVESTP; STELLA BC lost 19: 107 to CSA; FBA lost 35 : 82 to ABC and OBC beat TBC Ermees 62 : 42
In the men category, ABC recorded their 4th straight victory by defeating highly rated GENERATION BC 46 : 39. Other results were: AFRICA SPORTS 39 : 27 TBC Ermees; ZENITH 66 : 37 SEWE; OBC 57: 48 IVESTP; and EBY who just won just got promoted to the N1A lost to ASEC 51 :59
ABC Ladies suffered yet another set back last night at the hands of their rivals CSA in a game that was very entertaining right from the
start to the final buzzer.
The MTN Sponsored Red & White ladies took the lead right from 1st quarter till the last few seconds to the end of the game.
ABC Ladies suffered yet another set back last night at the hands of their rivals CSA in a game that was very entertaining right from the start to the final buzzer.
The MTN Sponsored Red & White ladies took the lead right from 1st quarter till the last few seconds to the end of the game. The score at the end of 1st quarter was 20 - 18, 2nd quarter 34 - 32, 3rd quarter 46 - 40 but with just 40 secs left, CSA came in a rush with spectacular display of skills and team work and took control of the game. ABC's last seconds attemt to recover was too late as the game ended 54 - 55 in favour of CSA.
In Another develpment, ABC men retaliated by beating ZENITH 60 - 53 in a game that saw the introduction of a new player ALI HACHOUCH (Guard 1.90cm, 85kg,) from Lebanon club WAFAA.
Results of other games: AFRICA SPORTS 59 IVESTP 56
