BEIRA, DUC ARE CHASING FIRST WINS IN SAHARA CONFERENCE

Sahara Conference hosts Dakar Universite Dakar (DUC) will be put to the test again when they take on Ferroviario da Beira on Tuesday at Dakar Arena.

DUC opened their Basketball Africa League (BAL) journey on Saturday the worst way possible after an 85-70 defeat to SLAC, but the Mozambican champions didn’t do any better either after losing to US Monastir 77-71 on Sunday.

DUC and Beira have never faced each other before, but to avoid being under pressure and retake control of their BAL destiny, both are expected to do everything possible to avoid going down 0-2 with three games left in the Sahara Conference.

So time is precious for Beira and DUC.

A reminiscence of Senegal and Mozambique champions happened in the BAL inaugural season in Kigali last Many when Ferroviario de Maputo beat AS Douanes to advance to the quarterfinals.

Things look different this time around, especially with DUC playing in front of their loyal home fans, who despite their loss on Day 1 of the Sahara Conference, have shown signs to back their heroes regardless of the situation the team is in.

For Beira, who gave US Monastir some hard time on Sunday, it’s all about replicate or improve the Mozambicans’ champions status on the league.

“We are going to try to improve our defense game plan, and compete until the last possession,” Beira head coach Luis Herdandez said in the build-up of the clash against DUC.

“We’re playing the home team, but we are here on a mission. I believe in my players, and we’re going to be ready,” noted a defiant Hernandez.

For DUC, it will be all about cutting down turnovers, stay focused throughout the game, and Jordan Aboudou and Hameed Ali might need more playing time than they got on Day 1.

DUC wasted an 11-point lead in their opener, and to make matters worse, they had an appalling third quarter against SLAC that technically determined the outcome of the game. Focus, and forcing Beira out of their comfort zone will be vital for DUC.

“Playing at home is not an easy task,” DUC head coach Parfait Adjivon admitted.

Looking back at their loss to SLAC, Adjivon acknowledged that they did everything to win the game against SLAC, but allowing a 15-2 run in the third quarter is “unforgivable at this level of competition.”

“We will come back strong. The objective remains intact. There is no more to calculate, you have to get three or four victories. I believe it is possible,” Adjivon stressed.