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Ahmad mène les River Lions à la victoire sur les BlackJacks lors d’un match éliminatoire palpitant

Myles Dichter • August 5, 2024

Ce fut le genre de performance digne d’un double lauréat du titre de joueur « clutch » de l'année.


Khalil Ahmad a marqué 13 points d'affilée pendant la période de pointage cible et les River Lions de Niagara sont revenus de l'arrière pour battre les BlackJacks d'Ottawa au compte de 94-91 en demi-finale de la conférence de l'Est de la LECB, dimanche, au Centre Meridian.


Les River Lions tiraient de l'arrière par quatre points lorsque le chronomètre s'est arrêté à la conclusion du quatrième quart - puis Ahmad a pris les choses en main.


Le Californien a marqué suite à une percée au panier sur du premier jeu de la période supplémentaire. Il a ensuite réussi un panier de trois points, puis, lors de la possession suivante, Ahmad a été victime d'une faute en tentant un triplé et a réussi ses trois lancers francs.


Une brève interruption dans sa domination a suivi lorsqu'il a été puni pour avoir marché avec le ballon, ce qui s’est traduit par un revirement.


Mais Ahmad n'a pas été ébranlé, inscrivant un autre panier de trois points sur le jeu suivant.


Soudainement, les River Lions menaient par 92-91, avec le ballon, et avaient besoin de deux points pour gagner.


Ahmad a remis le ballon à Omari Moore, qui l'a passé à TJ Lall à l’extérieur du cercle. Entre-temps, Ahmad s'est défait de son couvreur et a foncé au panier.


Lall a lobé le ballon et Ahmad l’a rabattu dans le panier avec férocité, provoquant la frénésie de ses coéquipiers et de la foule, et permettant aux River Lions d’obtenir leur billet pour le Week-end du championnat à Montréal.


« J’ai dit à TJ de lancer le ballon dans les airs et que je m’occuperais du reste. Et il m’a fait confiance », a déclaré Ahmad. « C’était magnifique, parfait. »


L’entraîneur-chef Victor Raso a déclaré que c’est un jeu que l’équipe a tenté plusieurs fois au cours de la saison, mais qu’il est généralement complètement bloqué ou grand ouvert. Cette fois-ci, la défensive était quelque part entre les deux.


« TJ a lancé le ballon là où seul Khalil pouvait l’attraper et Khalil a fait un jeu incroyablement athlétique. »


Raso a déclaré qu’il était encore en train de rassembler ses pensées lorsqu’il a rencontré les médias après le match.


« Ils nous ont littéralement poussés dans nos derniers retranchements. Et si ce match n'avait pas lieu ici devant 4 000 personnes, je ne sais pas si nous aurions gagné. Nous avons puisé dans nos ressources, nous sommes allés avec un alignement plus petit, nos gars ont joué avec acharnement et Khalil Ahmad est un joueur spécial. Ce qu'il a fait en fin de match et dans la période de pointage cible est incroyable », a-t-il déclaré.


Du côté des BlackJacks, il s'agissait d'une fin de match crève-cœur, eux qui ont bien failli prolonger leur irrésistible poussée de fin de saison.


Ottawa a commencé la campagne avec une fiche de 1-5 et a obtenu la dernière place donnant accès aux séries éliminatoires dans la conférence de l'Est malgré un dossier de 9-11, mais ont ensuite surpris les champions en titre de Scarborough vendredi lors du premier tour éliminatoire.


Les BlackJacks ont poursuivi leur bon travail à Niagara et menaient par 10 points à l’amorce du quatrième quart contre les River Lions, invaincus à domicile cette saison.


Mais l’explosion offensive d'Ahmad a mis un terme à la belle histoire des négligés.


« Cette équipe d'Ottawa est vraiment bonne », a déclaré Raso. « Il y a des équipes contre lesquelles nous avons joué dans cette ligue qui ont des effectifs plus talentueux, plus étoffés, mais je ne sais pas si nous avons joué contre une équipe qui joue avec ce type de rythme, ce type de flux, cette intelligence et cette capacité sur le plan offensif. Ils nous ont posé beaucoup de problèmes. »


Ahmad a été relativement discret sur le plan offensif pendant la majeure partie du match, ne marquant que 10 points en temps régulier.


Sur le plan défensif, cependant, il a été actif avec six vols, soit un de moins que le record de la LECB pour un match des séries. Il a également contribué au bon fonctionnement de l'attaque des River Lions avec huit passes décisives.


Le garde Jahvon Blair a également contribué à la victoire avec 22 points et six rebonds, tandis que Nathan Cayo a ajouté 17 points, dont deux tirs de trois points juste avant la période de pointage cible qui ont permis de réduire le déficit de Niagara de 10 à quatre points.


« Nous sommes restés unis pendant tout le match. Ils ont connu de belles séquences et nous sommes restés unis, nous avons fait ce qu'il fallait et nous avons gagné. Je suis donc fier de nos gars, de leur résilience », a déclaré Ahmad.


Ottawa a été mené par le substitut Shamar Givance, qui a marqué 19 points, tandis que Deng Adel a terminé le match à deux points d'un triple-double avec huit points, 10 rebonds et 10 passes décisives.


Isaih Moore, Tevin Brown et Keevan Veinot ont tous marqué au moins 10 points.


Les River Lions ont pris un départ rapide, Blair marquant presque immédiatement après le coup d'envoi, puis des paniers en transition consécutifs ont conduit à un avantage de 6-0, que Niagara a transformé en un avantage de 28-19 après 10 minutes de jeu.


Mais les BlackJacks ne se sont pas laissés abattre et ont finalement pris leur première avance dans la dernière minute de la première demie. Cependant, grâce à un panier de trois points de Blair, les River Lions ont repris une avance de 49-48 à la pause.


Ottawa a dominé le troisième quart, grâce entre autres au brio de Givance. Les BlackJacks menaient 77-67 après 30 minutes d’action.


Les River Lions ont répondu avec cinq points rapides au début du quatrième quart, mais les BlackJacks ont repris leur avance de 10 points, jusqu'à ce que les triplés consécutifs de Cayo ne réduisent l’écart à quatre points à l’amorce de la période de pointage cible.


C'est à ce moment qu'Ahmad a pris le relais. 


Maintenant, il participera à son troisième Week-end du championnat consécutif avec les River Lions.


« Cela signifie beaucoup. Le Week-end du championnat est évidemment très important. Nous avons terminé comme nous le souhaitions à la maison et il ne nous reste plus qu'à nous occuper de nos affaires là-bas », a déclaré Ahmad. « Ce sera la troisième fois et j'espère que la troisième fois sera la bonne. »


- LECB -


À propos de la LECB

Ligue créée par des Canadiens pour des Canadiens avec la mission de développer des joueurs, des entraîneurs, des dirigeants sportifs et des arbitres canadiens, la LECB compte le pourcentage le plus élevé de joueurs canadiens de toutes les ligues professionnelles du pays, ses formations étant composées à 75 % de Canadiens et comptant un nombre record de 10 joueurs possédant une expérience de la NBA dans leurs rangs en 2024. Les joueurs viennent également de la NBA G League, des meilleures ligues professionnelles internationales, du programme de l'équipe nationale canadienne, des programmes de la NCAA, ainsi que de U SPORTS et de l’ACSC. Quatorze joueurs ont signé des contrats de la NBA après une saison de la LECB et de nombreux joueurs de la LECB participent chaque année à des camps d'entraînement de la NBA G League. La saison de la LECB se déroule de mai à août. Les matchs sont diffusés en direct sur 
CEBL+ optimisé par BetVictor, TSNTSN+RDSGame+Next Level Sports & Entertainment et Courtside1891. De plus amples informations sur la LECB sont disponibles sur CEBL.ca et via @cebleague sur InstagramTwitterTikTokLinkedInFacebook et YouTube.

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