Democratic Republic of Congo players celebrate after beating Kenya to win the first FIBA AfroCan title ©FIBA

Democratic Republic of the Congo today became the first winners of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) AfroCan tournament in Mali’s capital city of Bamako.

DR Congo earned an 82-61 victory at Palais des Sports Salamatou Maiga against a Kenyan team that had bucked expectations by knocking out Tunisia and Morocco.

Kenya were under pressure from the first quarter, which they lost 29-18.

They responded well, winning the second quarter to take a 37-36 lead.

But the match tipped decisively the way of DR Congo in the third quarter, which they won 29-10, seeing out the fourth quarter with a 17-14 scoreline.

In earlier matches, Angola earned third place with an 88-71 win over Morocco.

Fifth went to the hosts after a 75-64 win over Chad, while the seventh-place match saw Tunisia beat Algeria 68-67.