CAIRO -- The Cape Town Tigers came from behind to clinch a 75-68 win over Guinea's SLAC at the Basketball Africa League's Nile Conference on Thursday, with Zaire Wade making his much-anticipated debut.
Angolan champions Petro de Luanda also had an occasionally rough ride in an 89-71 win over Uganda's City Oilers later on, but it was the earlier game which really went down to the wire.
The Tigers, and Wade, struggled to find their rhythm in the first quarter, with former Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Josh Hall missing successive free throws, and SLAC getting into their groove behind the three-point line to take a 22-16 lead.
SLAC caught the Tigers unaware on the fast break multiple times, but Nigeria international Mike Gbinije and NAIA third-team All-American Samkelo Cele each enjoyed impressive periods of play to keep the Tigers within touching distance.
The Guinean side went into half-time 39-34 ahead thanks to 10 first half points from former Stony Brook guard Uchenna Iroegbu, and nine from their stalwart, Dane Miller Jr.
SLAC started the third quarter well, but the Tigers regained their footing after re-introducing Wade, who now looked sharp offensively and helped coach Rasheed Hazzard's team reduce the deficit from 45-37 to 45-44.
The Tigers found a way to restrict the flow of fast break points against them with Hall and Evans Ganapamo, both of whom scores 15 points, showing glimpses of their best shooting form as the match progressed.
The teams then traded blows, but the Tigers slowly began to pull clear. A dunk by forward Nkosinathi Sibanyoni gave the South African side a five point lead at 56-51.
However, Sibanyoni fouled out of the game with the Tigers 62-57 up, giving SLAC a lifeline. SLAC had disciplinary issues of their own as coach Željko Zečević was ejected for the game for a touchline tirade -- not his first of the game.
SLAC attempted a late comeback, but the wind had been taken out of their sails and the Tigers held on for a scrappy but crucial win.
Hazzard dedicated the win to his late brother, saying in his post-match press conference: "We made the adjustment to go to our 1-2-2 press. I thought that was really effective.
"It's a press that I stole from the old Crenshaw Cougars out in Los Angeles. I've had it with me. My brother, Jalal Hazzard, who passed away a few months ago, taught me that press... That's what turned the game around."
The late tip-off looked set to be a one-sided affair, with the Angolan giants, finalists last season, taking on Uganda's debutants. Petro scored the first 10 points of the game with no response until Falando Jones sunk a three midway through the first quarter.
Oilers pulled the score back to 21-14 by the end of the quarter and got the first five points of the second, but Childe Dundão and Damian Hollis took control of the game briefly for Petro.
Oilers rallied back again, with a three from James Justice Jr. putting the team from Uganda 35-34 up with 2:32 left in the second quarter.
Oilers continued to pile pressure on them in the third quarter but Aboubacar Gakou kept the scoreboard ticking, while Ater Majok remained steadfast on defence and Petro's depth began to make the difference. The Angolan champions headed into the final quarter 66-59 up.
In the fourth quarter, Petro's experience told as they saw out the game to win 89-71. Jones was Oilers' top scorer on the night with 22 points, while Justice Jr. scored 20. Petro, meanwhile, spread their scoring well with eight players scoring eight or more. Gakou was their top scorer with 16.
City Oilers' Titus Odeke, who scored 10, admitted that City Oilers have to sharpen up to ensure Jones and Justice Jr. are not left to do all the heavy lifting as far as points scoring goes.
"Everyone needs to put up a basket to add points and if two guys were on 20+ and the rest of us were below, we needed to step it up to help them," he told ESPN in the mixed zone.
Petro captain Carlos Morais said in his post-match press conference that Petro would not allow themselves to rest on their laurels until securing the so far elusive BAL title.
"We have no reasons to be satisfied at this point," The former Toronto Raptors player said.
"This is our third season. We haven't reached our goal until now. Tonight, we won one game. We've got four more to go, so there is no reason to be satisfied at this point."
The BAL airs on ESPN's channels in Africa. Follow the schedule and scores here.