Madagascar's COSPN finished their 2027 Road to BAL campaign with a dominant 88-55 victory over Ushindzi de Ouani on Saturday, but the team ended with a 1-3 record after losing their first three matches. Head coach Tojo Hery Rasamoelina said the tournament was a steep learning curve for his side.
"Our journey got off to a rough start; we didn't begin the first game well," Rasamoelina said. "We tried to settle into the competition as we went along, but unfortunately, we lost our first three matches. It was only toward the end that we really found our rhythm and rediscovered the desire to play—earlier on, the pressure was just too much for my guys."
COSPN suffered heavy defeats to BAL-experienced sides Urunani and Nam Blazers, and lost narrowly to Patriot. Rasamoelina admitted the level was much higher than his team is used to. "Since Madagascar is an island, we rarely get to play in international matches. For us, this has been a valuable learning experience; we're truly discovering the African basketball landscape," he said.
The coach said the lessons learned will help basketball development on the island. "We were able to see how others train and how others play. And that will be a great help to basketball in Madagascar," Rasamoelina added. COSPN hope to return stronger for future editions.
