Al-Ittihad shut down Tripoli, remain the only undefeated team

For Al Ittihad Alexandria and Al Ahli Tripoli, it was a game of firsts, but only one team left with a perfect record.

After outclassing their Nile Conference opponents in Kigali last month, facing Al Ittihad Alexandria in Pretoria on Friday night was a new and difficult experience for Al Ahli Tripoli.

The Libyan champions arrived in Pretoria undefeated, but they are now 6-1 after losing 85-74 to the Egyptian team.

For the first time this season, Tripoli went into halftime having never led in the opening two quarters. They ended up never taking the lead.

For the first time, they also found themselves trailing by more than 12 points. At one point in the second quarter, they were down by 14 points (28-14).

Al Ahli Tripoli's most lethal weapon, the three-point shot, was nearly non-existent. They went 2-for-14 in the first half. They finished the opening quarter 0-for-6 from deep and ended the game 4-for-27.

Fabian White Jr., who joined Al Ahli Tripoli last week, led all players in scoring with 24 points and added 10 rebounds.

Jean Jacques Boissy and Nasseim Badrush contributed 17 and 16 points, respectively, but no other Al Ahli Tripoli player scored in the double digits.

"Their players are big and long, which makes it easy for them to guard us," Boissy told BAL.NBA.com.

The Senegalese guard continued, admitting that: "We faced a great team. They outran us, and we missed shots that we normally make. Losing a game is part of the process. We just need to regroup and improve.”

Boissy reiterated that nothing is lost: "It's just a classification game. We have to focus on the next one, which is more important.”

Reigning BAL MVP Jo Lual Acuil, who joined Al Ittihad Alexandria a few days before the playoffs, finished with team-highs of 16 points and 14 rebounds. His fellow South Sudanese, Majok Deng, led the team with 19 points.

"We wanted to integrate Jo into the team and see how he would fit in. As you can see, he fits in pretty well," said Kyle Vinales, who contributed 12 points and four assists.

In fact, Acuil scored the opening basket with a fadeaway jumper.

"I am happy that we carried over the way we played in Morocco—passing the ball and playing as a team," said Vinales.

When asked about the lessons learned from their first playoff win, Vianales observed: "We came here with one goal."

He continued, detailing what keeps them focused: "We're disappointed that we didn't win the Egyptian championship and give our fans some redemption. We are focused, and now we have one goal in mind.

“Our chemistry is much better than I expected, considering we haven’t played together for almost two months.”

“I am excited to see how much better we get with each game,” he added.

Al Ittihad will face FUS Rabat in the quarterfinals, and Al Ahli Tripoli will play Kriol Star.