Fall makes it rain to shock Rabat

With less than five seconds on the clock, Samba Fall sank a three-pointer to help Ville de Dakar shock FUS Rabat 67-66 on Wednesday.

Defeat against FUS Rabat would have seen Ville de Dakar drop to 0–3, but Fall wasn't prepared to lose again.

The Senegalese international started the fourth quarter in attack mode. He scored 10 of his team-high 17 points in the final quarter as Ville de Dakar secured their first win in three games.

A win for FUS Rabat on Wednesday would have seen the Moroccan champions secure the second playoff ticket from the Sahara Conference, but they will now have to wait until their next two games to find out what their playoff prospects are.

Solo Diabaté, a two-time BAL champion, finished with 16 points, while his Ville de Dakar teammate Axel Toupane added 12.

For Samba Fall, it was all about making a difference. After all, this was the first time that head coach Moustapha Gaye had trusted him to be the starting shooting guard.

Fall was hungry for success, and although he rushed some plays by taking shots with less than five seconds on the clock, he eventually repaid Gaye's faith in him.

The four-year BAL player shot 6-for-14 from the floor (including 3-for-7 from deep), grabbed five rebounds, contributed two steals, and ultimately had the last laugh.

As soon as his game-winning shot went in, his teammates jumped over him, acknowledging that he had played the heroic role that coach Gaye had envisioned.   

“When he shot, I thought it looked good, and thankfully it went in. It was an amazing shot by Samba; a great night for us,” said Fall’s teammate Axel Toupane, a 2021 NBA champion with the Bucks. 

In the first three quarters of the game, Kuany Atem Kuany did everything he could to keep FUS Rabat in the game. He shot 6-for-16 in the first three quarters, but failed to score in the decisive fourth quarter, taking only one shot. 

To make matters worse for Kuany, he was the ultimate defender, trying to deflect Fall’s game-winning shot.

Kuany led the scoring for FUS Rabat with 19 points. Mouhamadou Diagne finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Ayoub Nouhi added another 10 points for the Moroccan champions.

The game was so evenly matched that five of the nine lead changes occurred in the final quarter. 

Although FUS Rabat had a higher field-goal percentage (35.7%) than Ville de Dakar (32.4%), they may regret only making eight out of 11 free throws against their opponents' 12 out of 15.  Turning the ball over five times in the last quarter didn’t help FUS either.

WHAT THEY SAID

Axel Toupane (ASC Ville de Dakar)

“It was a real battle; we played with a lot of heart and that made the difference. It wasn’t pretty, but we secured the much-needed win.

“We have no option but to win our next two games. We'll try to win them and see what happens in the other games, to see if we can qualify for Kigali.”

Will Perry (FUS Rabat)

“To be honest, I don’t even have to look at the stats sheets. I made too many silly turnovers and credit to their defence — I think they defended us really well.”

“It's really deflating tonight, but we just have to be angry about it for one day and then move on by tomorrow.”

“I’ll have to watch the game again to give you a proper analysis. I don’t want to make anything up right now. Off the top of my head, I feel like I made a lot of turnovers when they trapped me; I should have been more careful.”

“What comes next? Try to win on Saturday.”

OUTCOME

This was ASC Ville de Dakar’s first win in three games while FUS Rabat dropped to 2-1.

BAL