ANTANANARIVO (Madagascar) - It's a crucial stage at the 2022 FIBA U18 African Championship. It's the Semi-Finals and time to know who are those who are going to fight for the most coveted prize.

Mali have eluded Benin and will face Madagascar while surprising Angola will clash against Egypt in the opening game of the day.

Here's a closer look at the two Semi-Finals.

Mali vs Madagascar

Mali have entered the FIBA U18 African Championship with the hopes of winning three-peat. And Madagascar have eyes set on the big prize.

What is interesting here is that none of these two teams have had a nice and easy way to the Semi-Finals.

While Madagascar reached the semis at 3-1, Mali are 4-1 ahead the last-four clash.

It will the be first encounter between Malagasy and Malians in this tournament.

In fact, Mali have suffered to Angola during the Group Phase, but they have admirably questioned themselves and their abilities and moved forward against Egypt.

When they moved on to the Quarter Finals, they met with Benin, the only team to have qualified without a single victory.

As for Madagascar, things are a bit similar. As the hosts of the competition, they have, for each game they played, obtained the support of their local fans. But will that be enough as they battle one of the greatest title contenders ?

But Madagascar seems to have found solace in difficulty, as they successfully battled Guinea in the Quarter-Finals.

And the prospect of qualifying for their first-ever FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup is more motivating than ever. Irony is both teams have wished they could have avoided each other. But the odds have been in their favour.

Egypt vs Angola

Egypt beat Angola in the Group Phase

No-one expected Angola at this stage of competition. But yet, here they are, surprising everyone. Angola have built themselves a reputation at this present edition of the FIBA U18 African Championship.

They can be seen as giant-killers as they have disposed of Mali in the Group Phase and of Senegal in the Quarter Finals.

However, they face a major difficulty: they have not been prone to regularity since the start. This is explained by the fact that they haven't competed in two years, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But they know how to work together as they proved it against Senegal.

Angola are headed to the Semi-Finals with a 3-2 mark, while Egypt are 4-1.

When Angola and Egypt faced off in the Group Phase, Egypt prevailed 49-.43. 

Egypt have also suffered a defeat to the hands of Mali, but the Pharaohs have devised a plan to keep up with Angola.

With Mohamed "Tifa" Hendy, Belal Elshakey and others, we can be sure that the Egyptians will give Angola a good run for their money.

FIBA