Obadiah inspires resilient APR in overtime win over US Monastir

US Monastir forward Sadio Doucoure called Noel Obadiah’s three-point buzzer beater a soul destroyer right after APR edged the 2022 BAL champions 89-84 in the opening game of the 2024 Sahara Conference.

Obadiah’s three tied the game at 78-78 to send it to overtime before APR outlasted the Tunisian champions in the remaining five minutes 11-6.

“When they hit the buzzer-beater,” Doucoure reflected, “Your emotions go down. It was tough for us.”

“They have proven tonight that a basketball game is not finished until it’s over,” the Malian added.

APR trailed by four (74-68) with a minute left, but APR never panicked and when things looked done and dusted for US Monastir, Obadiah changed the course of the game.

This is the first game of the season and second in BAL history to go into overtime.

“That’s our identity. We always stay together and play until the last buzzer,” said APR forward Axel Mpoyo.

The win, Mpoyo noted, “shows we are a tough team.”

Obadiah and Adonis Filer finished with a game-high of 24 points each, Mpoyo added 15 points and Dario Hunt contributed 10.

The loss means US Monastir starts their BAL season 4 campaign the same way they finished the previous season, with a loss at Dakar Arena.

On March 21, 2023, US Monastir saw their season coming to an end after a 76-60 defeat to hosts AS Douanes.

Chris Crawford, who had led AS Douanes, to the historic win last year, led US Monastir with 21 points on Saturday, but APR proved too much to beat.

“They are a really good team, and it was a really important win. It’s important that [we] came here and played our hardest,” Mpoyo pointed out.

Obadiah left a sign of what he is capable of doing after Ater Majok, who finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds, scored the opening basket of the conference with a thunderous two-handed dunk.

Obadiah responded with a three-pointer for APR’s first lead, and he continued his dominant performance throughout the game.

It was a balanced game that could have gone either way, but it was APR’s resilience and US Monastir’s 20 turnovers – 11 more than APR – that proved to be the game changer.

APR returns to action on Sunday to take on Rivers Hoopers while US Monastir will face hosts AS Douanes.