16-year-old Chomche sparks FAP in hard-fought win over Cobra

A strong start of the game paved the way for FAP’s 71-64 victory against Cobra Sports.

The win ensured the Cameroonian champions a place in the playoffs next month in Kigali.

Deshaun Morman ignited FAP’s offense with a team-high 16 points.

But, it was in the defensive end that unsung hero Ulrich Chomche took a leading role.

Chomche came up big and had extra motivation coming from the courtside, and it worked to perfection.

Sitting courtside, NBA Academy Africa coach Roland Houston cheered and instructed the Cameroonian youngster each time he got involved in the game.

Four major blocks, one dunk, two steals, three rebounds and six points in 13:02 minutes off the bench was the 6-foot-9’s contribution.

Chomche sparked his team defensively and owned the second quarter, a crucial for moment for FAP, who headed to locker room leading 46-23.

“Ulrich did what he was supposed to do, in what he is capable of doing, which is defend the rim, defend the basket. He did a good job of that, and we are extremely proud of him,” Houston said in after the game.

“He knows what we do as the NBA Academy; he knows our expectations. I was happy for him, he did what he was supposed to do, which is to play hard,” he added.

Despite the 23 deficit at the break, Cobra Sport performed an incredible come back, and almost denied FAP the victory.

What Cobra Sport failed to do in the first half they did in the third quarter.

Manyang Berberi’s team used a 12-2 run to cut the gap (48-35) with 4:26 left in the third quarter to be back in the game.

With the resurgence, Cobra Sports fans inside the arena, who looked relatively quiet in the first half, suddenly gained hope, chanting and clapping for every point made, and rebound grabbed by their heroes.

Cobra Sports limited FAP to just 2 points in the first seven minutes of the third, before FAP’s Tyjhai Byers hit one of his two free-throw.

By outscoring FAP 18-7 in the third quarter, the South Sudan entered the final quarter trailing 53-41.

With 2:44 left, Cobra Sport trailed 66-57, and Padiet Wang sank a 3pt with 29 seconds left that cut the gap to 68-64, but foul trouble hindered their chances to comeback in the game.

FAP scored their last three points of the game from the charity stripe.

Mayan Kiir had another big performance, finishing with 22 points and 8 rebounds, Wang had 20 points and David contributed 10 points for Cobra Sport.

“They were more aggressive than us in the first half. Now we have to live with the results,” said Deng.

Wang insisted they fought hard, but “That first half really beat us. If we played in the first half the way we played in the second half, we would have been in a better position to win the game.” FAP shooting guard Joel Almeida said that they relaxed in the third quarter. “We didn’t execute and that took us out of momentum, and they  started making shots and they started building their confidence.”