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Game 8: South Africa U21 84 vs. Nigeria U21 51 (61401)

Record: 8-0

Standing: 1st place, locked into playing in a semi-final
(Note: In this second round of games each team will play one another again and the top 4 of the 6 teams will advance to the semi-finals where the 1st seed will play the 4th seed and the 2nd seed will play the 3rd seed.)

A great start to the 2nd round as the team responded to a poor defensive showing with one of their best lock-down performances of the season against a tough Nigerian squad. 

- Vincent "Microwave" McDonna lived up to his nickname and led the team in scoring off the bench with 20 points on 10-15 shooting in just 25 minutes.
- The starting big men may've struggled to put the ball in the hoop but starting power forward,  Nbomani Mbandi, still managed to haul in a 14 point and 11 rebound double-double while starting center, Kamangeni Tloome, grabbed 22 rebounds for the game.
- The offense may've struggled a bit in this one but the defense returned back to form with the Baby Boks holding the Nigerians to 23% (20-85) shooting for the game.
- Thanks to the starters being able to secure a big lead, all 12 active South African players were able to see playing time in this one.

Player(s) of the Game: Vincent McDonna (48727480) trained by mathew13693

Our schedule gave us our toughest opponents first so up next we have an important match-up against the 2nd place team, Senegal!

Game 9: Senegal 91 vs. South Africa 78 (61405)

Record: 8-1

Standing: 1st place, locked into playing in a semi-final
(Note: In this second round of games each team will play one another again and the top 4 of the 6 teams will advance to the semi-finals where the 1st seed will play the 4th seed and the 2nd seed will play the 3rd seed.)

This was a frustrating first loss of the season for the Baby Boks. Senegal put in more effort, outhustled the team and had things break their way in this one. Our team will have to say goodbye to an undefeated season but learn and grow from this experience to keep focused on the push for back-to-back championships.

A few hard to believe stats tell the story of this loss,
- 74-35. Senegal secured 39 more rebounds than us, which is more than double what we had. 
- 37-8. Senegal committed 29 fewer fouls than us as we more than quadrupled the number of fouls they committed. We had 4 players, including 3 starters, foul out in this one and a 5th picked up 5 fouls.
- 50-8. Senegal had 42(!) more free throw attempts than we did in this one, which comes out to be more than quintuple the number of free throw attempts we had. Senegal's homecourt advantage may be helping in more ways than one...

Player(s) of the Game: Shafilshuna Machemko (48727512) trained by A Warrior

Disappointing results to say the least but it's time for the squad to pick their heads back up, move on and prepare for the next game. We've got another tough opponent in the 3rd place Al Jazair team up next.

Last edited by A Warrior at 9/6/2021 6:51:16 PM

Sucks to lose the unbeaten record but not much lost in this. We gained valuable information on PTB and our squad.

Game 10: Al Jazair U21 76 vs. South Africa U21 119 (61409)

Record: 9-1

Standing: 1st place, locked into playing in a semi-final as the 1st or 2nd seed
(Note: In this second round of games each team will play one another again and the top 4 of the 6 teams will advance to the semi-finals where the 1st seed will play the 4th seed and the 2nd seed will play the 3rd seed.)

The Baby Boks bounced back after their first loss of the season with a decisive victory over Al Jazair.

- 24 points in 27 minutes was just another day in the office for Thikhathali Zibi. His performance included a 3-pointer, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks.
- Both small forward Shafilshuna Machemko and point guard Makhaya Mukumana backed Zibi up by chipping in 18 points each for the game.
- Starting center, Kamangeni Tloome, dominated the boards with a 19 rebound effort. Our team as a whole doubled the number of rebounds Al Jazair had, 56-28.
- All 12 South African players that dressed for this one scored in the game.

Player(s) of the Game: Thikhathali Zibi (48727515) trained by A Warrior

Now the team will turn their attention to their game against Misr.

Game 11: Misr 59 vs. South Africa 100 (61412)

Record: 10-1

Standing: 1st place, locked into playing in a semi-final as the 1st or 2nd seed
(Note: In this second round of games each team will play one another again and the top 4 of the 6 teams will advance to the semi-finals where the 1st seed will play the 4th seed and the 2nd seed will play the 3rd seed.)

Another strong performance from the Baby Boks as they start a new winning streak.

- The team was led by strong double-double performances from Thikhathali Zibi (15 points and 17 rebounds) and Nbomani Mbandi (18 points and 10 rebounds).
- Unfortunately, starting center, Kamangeni Tloome, is out for the next couple of weeks due to an injury. The team hopes he'll recover quickly and be in good enough shape for the semi-finals.
- This was another game where all 12 South African players had a chance to get some in-game experience.
- The defense is back as Misr was held to 24% shooting for the game (20-82).

Player(s) of the Game: Thikhathali Zibi (48727515) trained by A Warrior

For the final game of this round, we face-off against the 4th ranked Al Maghrib squad.

Thank you for the post-match summaries. Keep up the good work. :)

Thanks Ebene5! Glad to hear I'm not the only one still reading them, haha.

I read them every week too!

Who knew we had such a following out here!

Thanks all. We've had some fun teams and good managers involved as of late.

And I want to be in on the secret as to why you follow us too! Haha. (I can assume why for you CaptainTeemo since you had won the most recent Gold for South Africa's U21 team prior to our win last season and are a legendary South Africa U21 coach!)

And as a shameless plug, I'm always looking for more managers to train South African players and/or join our Discord to help out with the team if anyone is interested! (https://discord.gg/4yuZveC6t4)