Ville de Dakar - First Senegalese team to win an opening BAL game in Dakar

History made!

It was a special day for ASC Ville de Dakar and Senegalese basketball on Saturday night at the Dakar Arena.

It was also an important moment for a club without an international record.

Bigger Senegalese teams have come and failed on the opening day in Dakar, but ASC Ville de Dakar did everything right to rewrite history.

To put it in perspective, Dakar Universite Club (DUC) opened their 2022 BAL season in Dakar with an 85-70 loss to Guinea's SLAC.

AS Douanes lost to ABC Fighters 77-68 in the opening game of the 2023 BAL season at the Dakar Arena.

Last year, AS Douanes lost 77-68 to Nigeria's Rivers Hoopers at the emblematic venue in the Senegalese capital.

However, ASC Ville de Dakar broke the Senegalese teams' home losing streak on the opening day by defeating former BAL champions US Monastir 70-67 on Saturday.

The BAL debutants outrebounded US Monastir 50-41 and moved the ball relatively better with 18 assists to US Monastir's 14.

And perhaps they had Mamadou Sakho to thank for coming off the bench to grab eight huge rebounds that changed the dynamic of the game.

Disappointing the huge crowd that filled most of the seats in the Dakar Arena was never an option for ASC Ville de Dakar.

"We knew it wasn't going to be easy, and we didn't want to repeat what happened to other teams in recent years," said ASC Ville de Dakar guard Thierno Niang, who played for DUC in the 2022 BAL season.

"Tonight, we wanted to get the win. We knew it was important to get the first win to get comfortable because this is our first time playing in the BAL. It was important to start the competition the right way."

The feeling of being an integral part of a new chapter for Senegalese teams in the BAL, Niang admitted, was invigorating.

"This kind of support means we are united as a nation," Niang stressed.

He continued: "When you qualify for the BAL, it's not just for the team, you're representing the nation. And with the president of the country here, we had to fight because he and our fans gave us the push we needed to win the game.”

Bara Ndiaye paced the home side with a team-high 15 points, while Will Perry and Abdoulaye Harouna each added 12 points in the win.

"The memories of losing that first game in front of our home crowd are still with me," Niang recalled.

"My first BAL experience was not good, and I can honestly say that I carried that pain into this season. Nothing is going to be easy,” recalled Niang whose DUC finished last in the conference with a 1-4 and failed to advance to the postseason.

It’s because of his experience that Niang felt the need to make his voice heard: "My message to the team was that we might lose the first couple of games, but the best way to start is to fight and win the first game.”

It was a bitter pill to swallow for US Monastir, who now hold a 10-6 record in the Sahara Conference since 2022.

Veteran Radhouane Slimane led the Tunisian champions with 15 points, while his compatriot Firas Lahyani added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

US Monastir opened their 2024 BAL campaign with an 0-3 record but managed to bounce back with a 3-0 mark in the second round to advance to the postseason.