21 Feb.2017- Sagesse took on the Egyptian national team as both teams pursued the win to put one foot in the semi-finals.
Sagesse started the game off well with good box outs, switching on defense, and hustle on every play. Todd was able to score from his favorite spot on couple of occasions. Mike and Terrell were able to find spaces in the Egyptian zone to knock down their shots. Sagesse were focused and energetic on both sides of the floor. The best first quarter for Sagesse in this tournament ended in their favor 26-14.
In the second q, the Egyptians tried to get back into the game with a full-court defense and some quick plays with their HULK opening spaces under the rim ( Yeah a 2.25m guy is definitely a HULK, not a man). They were able to close the gap to 5 points. The Egyptians kept on pounding and found their touch from behind the arc to tie the game at 40. With 2 seconds left Bashir gave his team a 42-40 lead going into HT.
In the beginning of the third, both teams traded buckets as the Egyptian defense started to suffocate the Lebanese offense. Todd Obrian continued his excellent performance to keep his team in the game. Terrell was being pushed and shoved all game long but was still able to score some hard buckets. Sagesse were able to maintain their lead 59-56.
In the last q, Sagesse kept on fighting to maintain their lead. Couple of Terrell buckets and some great defending from Todd, Patrick and Bashir kept the lead with 5 min left. Sagesse shared the ball greatly with double teams always placed on Terrell and Mike. Players like Patrick found the gap to score a crucial shot and get the lead up to 5 with 3 min left. In the dying minutes, Sagesse looked for their go-to guy, none other than Terrell Stoglin who put the game to bed with couple of free throws. The game ended 81-75 in Sagesse’s favor.
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