Ganapamo, Darlan dominate against City Oilers in historic win

A day after an abysmal performance, Evans Ganapamo redeemed himself with a terrific display that saw Bangui Sporting Club win their first-ever BAL game.

The 29-year-old forward’s 1-15 shooting against Al Alhy soon became a thing of the past.

And, by halftime, Ganapamo had 17 points from a 7-11 shooting performance as the Bangui-based side led 50-43.

Ganapamo eventually added two more points, and the 101-88 win over City Oilers will certainly remain in BAL debutant's club-highs for years to come.

Rolly Fula (19) and Thierry Darlan (22) were equally vital in the winning cause.

“The message from our coaching staff was that we lost focus in the first game, and we urgently needed to play as a team,” said Jimmy Djimrabaye who contributed 13 points, 4 rebounds and a game-high of 7 assists.

Kaman Maluach recorded his first BAL double-double of 29 points and 12 rebounds, but the Oilers will need to make significant adjustments to relaunch their playoff aspirations.

Among the many adjustments required for the Ugandan champions, making free-throws and share the ball more are urgently needed.

“It’s very unfortunate. Our goal was to come here and win games,” said Oilers forward Bashir Ahmed, who finished the game with 12 points.

“We didn’t bring enough intensity and energy. I feel we can do a better job as a team. Guys started to throw their own things. We need to stick together as team,” the Ahmed admitted.

Despite the historic win, Djimrabaye feels there’s room for improvement.

“We still need to improve defensively. In a competition like the BAL you can’t allow more than 75 points in a game.”

He said that the x-factor to their was their togetherness. “We stuck to our game plan and the result is there. We are really happy for our first win in the BAL.”

Sunday, April 21 will be the first of three rest days in the Nile Conference, but Djimrabaye insists that it was time to switch focus to their next opponent: hosts Al Ahly SC.

“It will be a dogfight. We’ll try to keep our momentum.”

With the win, Bangui Sporting Club improved to 1-1 while City Oilers dropped to 0-2.

On Monday, April 22, City Oilers face Ah Alhy Ly while Bangui Sporting take on hosts Ah Alhy SC.