•Thomson scoops Best Rebounder award Final Angola 82-72 Ivory Coast TRIPOLI - ANGOLA notched their tenth Afrobasket championship title after trouncing Ivory Coast in Saturday’s final. The Portuguese speaking nation outscored their West African counterparts 82-72 in what was a very lively contest at Tripoli’s African hall.
•Thomson scoops Best Rebounder award
Final
Angola 82-72 Ivory Coast
TRIPOLI - ANGOLA notched their tenth Afrobasket championship title after trouncing Ivory Coast in Saturday’s final. The Portuguese speaking nation outscored their West African counterparts 82-72 in what was a very lively contest at Tripoli’s African hall.
Angola trailed by four in the first quarter and one in the second, but came roaring in the third (24-19) and fourth quarters (24-18) to finish their nine-game campaign without a defeat.
Angola’s Morais Carlos scored a game high 21 points while the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) Gomes Joaquim and Olimpio Cipriano weighed in with 16 points apiece.
On top of a commendable ninth spot finish, another plus for Rwanda in Libya was producing the tournament’s best rebounder in Robert Thomson.
The center, who narrowly missed out on the All-star team averaged 11 rebounds a game.
"This is an award I could not have won on my own,” he said.
"I cannot thank these guys (teammates) enough. They have been wonderful throughout the tournament,” the 27-year-old added.
Angola, together with Ivory Coast and Tunisia (second runners up) will now represent Africa at next year’s FIBA World Championships in Turkey.
Tunisia cemented the third spot after a 83-68 win over Cameroon.
Ends