2th Moov Africa Pro Handball League Day: Mixed fortunes for the Templars

The Moov Africa Pro Handball League was on its 2nd day this Saturday. Six matches are played on the different grounds. The teams of the Autonomous Port of Cotonou chained as well as the Ladies of Flowers. Meanwhile, the Gentlemen of Flowers begin with a misstep.

After the victory against Adjidja (24-25) during the 1st day, the Autonomous Port of Cotonou team returned the cover against Flowers this Saturday 15 July 2023 at the Hall of Arts in Cotonou. Well launched in his match, Aspac Hbc raced in the lead from start to finish. As they led 08-11 at the break, the foals of Michael Mgor widen the gap in the second half and conclude 18-23. Always with the gentlemen, two other matches took place. Etoile Bleue is beaten by Abo Sport 17-31 while ASSEC disposed of Espoir 52-19.

At the Ladies, Aspac takes a little revenge. The daughters of the General Manager, Jean Luc Assogba ensured their 2nd outing against Adjidja HBC. Trailing by three goals at halftime, the Autonomous Port of Cotonou team corrected the situation after returning from the locker room to win 19-22. The hierarchy is respected between Flowers and Flambeau. Easy victory for the CNSS team, 29-16. Baobab continues the apprenticeship that could not hold up in front of Aso Model. heavy defeat 08-28.

Damien TOLOMISSI

Some reactions

Kamalh Deen Soumanou, president ASSEC Hbc of Djougou

“We aim to do this first exercise, a success. We know our strengths and weaknesses well and work to present a better face tactically in every encounter., technique without forgetting the exemplary behavior in terms of fair play. Our success against Espoir is just the beginning of what we hope for. The next match will be against the Buffaloes of Parakou. We will do our best to return to Djougou with victory.

Jean-Luc Assogba, General Manager of ASPAC HBC

“Feelings of satisfaction and pride that animate me because with regard to the match against Adjidja, the difficulties we had, we could not imagine the outcome of today's match especially since Flowers is a reference. But given the criticisms we have had to make to the players and the changes that have taken place, we saw that the players were tactically disciplined and that is what gave the result tonight. The rest is to confirm with the results to show that these first outings are not the result of chance because the championship continues. At the level of the men in this zone it is back and forth ».

Daniel Elbow, FLOWERS HBC Coach

 “I admit that my impressions are good because it is a team that I took recently. If you noticed, at 80%, the workforce is young. So we are bringing the young people to take the step of the old ones who are leaving. It is also true that I have players who have a health problem and were not all here today. It's true that we don't go to the game to lose, unfortunately it happened. We will continue to work on what did not work, cohesion, consistency… We are more than determined to move forward”.