Egypt bounce back from Angola defeat with victory over Mali at Afrobasket Championships

Egypt bounced back from their defeat against Angola by beating Mali ©FIBA

Egypt will take on Algeria for fifth place at the Afrobasket Championships after they bounced back from their defeat at the hands of defending champions Angola with a comfortable 74-51 victory over Mali at the Salle Omnisport de Rades in Tunisia.

Kamal Khalifa top scored for the Egyptian side with nine points and 10 rebounds as they cruised to a commanding win in the fifth-to-eighth classification round.

The five-times champions, who last lifted the Afrobasket title on home soil in Alexandria in 1983, led throughout the match, despite coming up against a dogged Mali outfit keen to cause an upset.

Egypt’s next opponents Algeria were made to work hard for their spot in the fifth place play-off by Gabon, who had caused one of the shocks of the tournament in the last 16 by beating Cape Verde, but they eventually sealed an 84-76 success.

Mohamed Harat was the star performer for the Algerians, racking up 23 points and five rebounds, while Gabon’s Lin Francis Kobangoye Ikinda managed a haul of 17 points and seven rebounds.

Algeria, who have never won the competition, made a rapid start and moved 28-13 ahead after the first quarter, before they were able to extend their advantage to 50-31 by half-time.

Gabon reduced the deficit by eight points at the end of the third quarter but the Algerians held firm, seeing out a hard-fought victory to condemn their opponents to the seventh place play-off.

Cameroon inflicted another defeat on Cape Verde as they won to claim ninth — Cameroon inflicted another defeat on Cape Verde as they won 88-66 to claim ninth ©FIBA

Elsewhere, Cape Verde’s miserable run of late continued as they fell to yet another defeat, this time at the hands of Cameroon, who claimed an 88-66 victory to secure ninth spot.

Mozambique picked up their second win of the event with a 70-63 triumph over the Ivory Coast to claim 11th place, thanks largely to the superb showing from Augusto Matos, who led the way for his side with a total of 21 points.

The loss for the Ivorians, twice winners of the Afrobasket Championships, saw them succumb to their worst-ever finish at the tournament as they finished 12th.

Morocco clinched their first victory at the competition in their final game as Soufiane Kourodu’s 21-point haul guided them to an 86-74 success against the Central African Republic to win the battle for 13th.

The tournament is due to continue tomorrow with the semi-finals, where Senegal face Mali and Nigeria go up against Angola.