Joel Almeida's message to Kenyan fans after BAL qualification
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Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 08.12.24. | 09:21
Kriol Star stunned Burundi's Urunani 90-82 with just six players in rotation to make history for their country in their first year of existence
Cape Verde's Kriol Star, the youngest team in the Road to BAL (Basketball Africa League) East Division Elite 16 that concluded on Tuesday 3 December at Kasarani Indoor Arena believe that the Kenyan fans played a part in their qualification.
Skipper Joel Almeida who formed the team this year alongside his brother Ivan Almeida, through the Kriol Star Foundation says the Kenyans who turned out in their numbers for Monday's Semis, the decider matches for the two automatic slots from the Division were great help.
Joel and Ivan Almeida © FIBA"Thank you to the Kenyan fans. They cheered us on in such a crucial moment and we are grateful. We must have endeared ourselves to the fanbase with the kind of basketball we showcased and it was special to have their support," Almeida who will lead the first side from the Island nation to the premier Africa men's club competition.
Kriol Star stunned Burundi's Urunani 90-82 with just six players in rotation to make history for their country in their first year of existence, joining Nairobi City Thunder who also qualified on debut and are the first Kenyan side to reach BAL.
The achievement was significant for the Islanders, whose journey to the decider was one of self-belief.
They made their debut in the Road to BAL Group Phase and were given a baptism of fire when they lost 100-77 to eventual winners Al Ahly Tripoli and narrowly lost 81-76 to another BAL bound, Stade Malien, in the West Division competition in Libya. But a wild-card a few days before the Elite 16 of the East Division gave them a lifeline.
An 89-58 win over Bravehearts of Malawi, followed by a 104-71 defeat at the hands of Nairobi City Thunder and a 63-58 thriller against South Africa's MBB Blue Soldiers, ensured that the Islanders were involved in one of the division's two play-offs, where they caused the biggest upset.
"This ticket means everything for me as the coach. Can you imagine what it means for the country," Kriols head coach Hugo Da Silva Salgado posed after the feat. "One of the smallest countries in Africa will have a team in the BAL, after having their national team play in the [2023] World Cup. Everyone is talking about us. I know the effort it took Joel to put the team together and it is a historic moment not just for Cape Verde but for African basketball."
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