RABAT, Morocco - Egypt's Al Ittihad are the only unbeaten team left in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) Kalahari Conference after beating Nigeria's Rivers Hoopers 100-80 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sporting Complex on Tuesday.
Kyle Vinales was the game's leading scorer with 26 points as George King got 23 in Ittihad's most polished offensive performance of the tournament to date.
"The only difference was: today, I made shots. The last two games, shots weren't going in. [There was] no difference [otherwise]. I stayed confident," Vinales said in the press conference after the game.
Both teams had won their opening two games against Stade Malien and conference hosts FUS Rabat, but Rivers Hoopers led the conference on points difference before tip-off.
The first quarter already saw a titanic tussle. George King and Kelvin Amayo were quick out of the blocks for their respective teams, with Ittihad taking a 12-7 lead within the first five minutes.
Rivers Hoopers fought back with Raphiael Putney and Peter Olisemeka in superb form as they took the lead 17-14 and then 19-16. Ittihad brought some fresh legs on to go 21-19 up before Ike David Ugonna levelled the scores.
By the end of the first quarter, Ittihad led 25-23 but all indications were that this would be a fight to the end.
Moursi Mohamed Khalaf and Anas Mahmoud were both solid in the center position for Ittihad, helping them break up play and turn defense into offense. Power forward Majok Deng also grew increasingly influential as the game progressed. Vinales led the charge offensively as Ittihad took a 52-42 lead into half-time.
Arguably the play of the day came shortly before the break as Ahmed Aly Mohamed Ahmed drifted in from out wide towards the paint and picked out Deng Deng with a silky smooth no-look pass. Deng finished off with an uncontested jump shot.
Ittihad pulled away further in the third quarter, with Ibrahim Abdelrahman Mohamed playing out of his skin and the likes of King and Vinales continuing their fantastic form. Madut Akec did his best to inspire the Nigerian champions to stay in the fight but Omar Ahmed Mohamed Soliman's men led 81-65 ahead of the final quarter.
Putney was on top of his game in the fourth quarter, making a stunning dunk and working hard at the other end of the floor.
Amayo and King traded dunks with Rivers Hoopers keeping the game entertaining until the end. However, there was no stopping the green machine as they maintained their perfect record and status as championship favourites.
The BAL airs on ESPN's channels in Africa (SuperSport 218 and 219, Starsat 248).