Thursday
Kenya vs Morocco 10:30am
DR Congo vs Nigeria 1pm
Tunisia vs Ivory Coast 3:30pm
Rwanda vs Angola 6pm
Rwanda, Morocco, Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire secured the last tickets for the 2023 FIBA AfroCan Quarter-Finals after they edged out Cameroon, Gabon, Mozambique and Mali, respectively in the qualification playoffs on Wednesday.
ALSO READ: Afro-CAN: Rwanda beat Mozambique, through to quarter finals
Hosts Angola, defending champions DR Congo, Kenya and Tunisia qualified directly to the 2023 FIBA AfroCan Quarter-Finals after finishing on top of their groups.
But did the rest qualify?
Morocco became the first team to qualify for the last eight through the qualification playoffs after they fended off Cameroon 78-50 in a one-sided game before Nigeria joined them after their 71-55 win over Gabon.
Rwanda outplayed Mozambique and Cote d&039;Ivoire claimed the last ticket for the after convincing victory over Mali.
Morocco Vs Cameroon 78-50
The qualification playoff game between Morocco and Cameroon held all its promises.
There was blood and sweat as both teams had to leave it all on the floor in a quest to grab the ticket.
But Morocco were more realistic and proved it from tip-off.
Leading by as much as 11 points (14-3) into the first quarter, the Moroccans were never bothered by Cameroon as they paved their way towards victory.
In the build-up to this victory, six players finished with double digits, with Kevin Franceschi sinking a game-high 16 points, followed by Ali Lahrichi and Ayoub Achouri, who accounted for 14 points each.
The North Africans locked their defense each time, only giving away the key in the third quarter when they were outscored by Cameroon (21-15). But they quickly took back control of the game in a final 18-8 run, just enough to see them off to the Quarter Finals.
Abdelhakim Zouita and Mohamed Choua brought their A-game to a block party, contributing five of Morocco's 7 blocks throughout the game.
Soufiane Benhmine, who contributed 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists to the winning cause, was more than happy to have passed the Cameroonian hurdle. "I think we’re getting back to the rhythm. Now it is time to rest and focus on the quarter finals,” he said.
Nigeria Vs Gabon 71-55
The Nigeria v Gabon was a much-awaited game as the latter had previously caused one of the tournament's shocks after they saw off Kenya in the Group Phase.
But this time, Nigeria proved too much for them as they fell 55-71.
It all started off with a tie (18-18) after Nigeria led nearly all the way in the first quarter. But Chinedu Martins (15 points, 7 rebounds), Ibe Abuchi Agu (14 points) and Michael Afuwape (13 points) did not hear it that way.
Back in the second quarter, they pushed their way through and inflicted a 25-14 run to Gabon, who saw Nigeria get away with an 11-point advantage (43-32).
But instead of putting down their arms, Gabon fought back with style and came back with less than 10 points to catch up on.
However, Nigeria had that extra little boost in the final quarter, which made looking for the final victory easy as they scored another 15-8 run.
On their way to a rather easy victory, Nigeria homed in 10 out of their 23 attempts from behind the arc, which helped them secure the win.
Rwanda Vs Mozambique 73- 62
Rwanda was on the path to redemption as they were getting ready to cross paths with Mozambique.
With the two consecutive defeats in mind, they had to fend off one of the FIBA AfroCan debutants. And Rwanda did it in style as they saw off their Southern African opponent 73-62.
Stakes were high for the game as Mozambique replied to Rwanda’s offensive in the first quarter (21-22).
But Dieudonne Ndizeye, who would go on to have a field day with 16 points and 5 rebounds, put Rwanda in orbit along with Ntore Habimana (14 points, 4 rebounds) and William Robeyns (15 points, 1 rebound and 4 assists).
Robeyns would go on to redeem himself from his poor performance earlier in the tournament. With fire in his hands, the small forward scored a perfect 4 out of 4 from behind the arc and along with another perfect 3 out of 3 from the charity line.
"Those two shots I missed against Morocco made me feel a bit upset. It doesn't happen often that I missed two free throws in a row and I came today with the need to win because it was a most important game for us", said Robeyns
Mozambique tried to respond with Augusto Pio Matos (12 points), Elves Houana (10 points) and Baggio Lourenco Chimonzo (10 points), but their efforts amounted to nothing much.
ALSO READ: AfroCAN: Morocco fight back to beat Rwanda
"The whole team has been consistent throughout the game and we were confident in defense." Rwanda finished with 38 rebounds, only one rebound shy of Mozambique’s figure. But they kept their rank on defensive rebounds, totaling 28 to 26 for Mozambique. "It's a part of our game identity and we lived up to it."
They will face hosts Angola in their quarter finals in a do-or-die game.
Cote d'Ivoire Vs Mali 72-58
Cote d'Ivoire are showing that they should be considered as title contenders after they saw off Mali in the qualification playoff round 72-58. The Elephants counted on Mike Fofana's 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists to win the game against Western African rivals Mali.
Fofana did a bit of everything to help his side conquer their opponent. But he also finished with a 5/5 success rate at free throws, all the while scoring 3 out of 7 from behind the arc.
ALSO READ: 2023 FIBA Afro-CAN: Rwanda lose to Tunisia in opening game
While they had built up an 8-point lead by half-time, a moment&039;s inattention was all it took to see Mali close the gap to four points only after they had a 16-18 run.
But Cote d’Ivoire just focused back on the game and they finished off the job with 22-14 in the final quarter.
With Tunisia looming in for the quarter finals, they still have to be careful. But Fofana refuses to let pressure stand in the way.
"It doesn't matter who we play next, we’re here to get the best possible result and we’re working towards it," he said.
They will have to work towards correcting their errors if they are to pass the Tunisian test in what will be a remake of the 2021 FIBA AfroBasket finals.
Quarterfinals will be played on Thursday, July 13, with Kenya and Morocco opening the day, followed by the DR Congo vs Nigeria match-up.
Hosts Angola and Rwanda will take the floor in the third game of the day while Tunisia and Cote d'Ivoire will fight for the last semifinal spot.