THE TOUNDRA ARE FINDING THEIR LEGS ON THE ROAD
Game 1 | MTL 84 - LEV 112
The first game took place Friday, March 24, and saw the Toundra face off against the Lehigh Valley Legends in Pennsylvania. Put it down to first away-game jitters, but the Toundra gave up the game 112-84 to the Legends, who dominated throughout the match.
Once again, Graddy Kanku and Olivier Cadieux distinguished themselves as top scorers, with 16 and 13 points each. Misi Boye Jeanneau Mubiala joined the elite group with 14 points, while big man Rudolphe Joly held his record steady with 10 points overall. Jamal Mohammed Mayali (8,) Narcisse Kalamba (8,) and Kevin Loy-Sell ((7,) all marked points for the Toundra, as did Levi Londole (2,) and new face Arnaud Cillis (2.) However, it was not enough to close the wide gap.
“It takes time to adjust to the road,” explains Toundra General Manager Juan Mendez, “everyone has to get used to the hours of travel, getting in and out of the hotels, playing in a strange place …,” adding, “ there’s a learning curve to go through, and we’re going through it.”
Game 2 | MTL 81 - ALB 95
The team fared better in their second away game, on Sunday March 26 against the Albany Patroons, in Albany. The team kept close in the first quarter, keeping the score to 17-13 for Albany, and maintaining the 4-point gap by the end of the second quarter. In the second half, no extra light between the two teams was let in, as the score climbed to 63-59, with victory only a few tantalizing buckets away for Montreal. Unfortunately, by the end of the game, Albany came on strong and widened their victory more decisively, ending the game 90-79.
Levi Londole led Montreal scorers with 16 points, followed by Narcisse Kalamba with 14, and Nervens Demosthenes returning to form with 12. Toundra point-makers included Graddy Kaku (6,) Mathieu Paul Walter Rode (2,) Kyliann Rotardier (2,) Olivier Cadieux (2,) Arnaud Boyer-Cillis (8,) and Rudoplhe Joly (7.)
The Montreal Toundra’s first road foray continues on Friday night against the Reading Rebels, and on Saturday against the York Mighty Ants. All games can be viewed live on TBL.TV.
