Basketball Africa League debutants Maktown Flyers kicked off their campaign in impressive fashion, defeating Ivory Coast’s JCA Kings 76-68 in their opening game at the Salle Omnisports Moulay Abdellah on Saturday.
Head coach Abdulrahman Mohamed named a starting five of James Butler, Tyrell Corbin, Peter Olisemeka, Hassan Drame, and Jawad Adekoya.
The Nigerian side set the tone early, racing to a dominant 30–17 lead in the first quarter, highlighted by eight three-pointers. JCA Kings responded in the second quarter, edging it 21–16 to reduce the deficit heading into halftime.
Maktown regained control in the third quarter, once again outscoring their opponents 21–16 to maintain a comfortable lead. Although JCA Kings mounted a late push in the fourth quarter, winning it 14–9, their effort came too late as the Flyers secured their first-ever BAL victory in their debut season.
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Jawad Adekoya delivered a standout performance to earn Most Valuable Player honors, recording a game-high in points, along with two rebounds and a game-high three steals. Tyrell Corbin, Hassan Drame, and Ognodeje each contributed 13 points, while Peter Olisemeka and Ibrahim Doumbia dominated the boards with 10 rebounds apiece.
For JCA Kings, Jonathan Cissé led the scoring with 16 points, Robinson Odoch added 14, and Cheikh Diong grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
Up next, Maktown Flyers face a tough test against hosts FUS Rabat at the same venue on Sunday.
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