ANTANANARIVO (Madagascar) - Egypt have taken one of the two remaining tickets for the Semi-Finals of the 2022 FIBA U18 African Championship after beating Algeria 58-50 in a tense and disputed Quarter-Final on Thursday.

It wasn't business as usual for Egypt, who aim at finishing above the third place, a spot they earned when they hosted the competition two years ago.

In fact, Algeria, betting on their previous encounter earlier this year, started off strong, and finished the first quarter with a narrow 20-21  advantage.

The game turned into a hot pursuit as both teams fought for the top, but Algeria, more realistic on the court and borne by Mehdi Bouhmama (15 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals and 1 block), headed into half-time with a two-point advantage (30-28).

But Egypt had other plans when they came back to the court. Boosted by the pause, Egypt assaulted their opponents in an attempt to win back the control of the game. Which they did, even though Algeria still gave them a hard time.

Producing a fast-paced game, Egypt finally made the break, as three men - Ibrahim Zahran, (13 points, 4 rebounds and as many steals), Mohamed Hendy (10 points) and Belal Elshakery (12 points) - rose the stakes.

"We have to admit that we faced a tough opposition. We had to fight to the end," notes shooting guard Mohamed Hendy.

Hendy was a kind of hero as he clutched in a three-pointer that definitely gave the Pharaohs the lead of the game.

"They collapsed in the zone [defence], and we waited for the transition offence," Hendy adds.

Now that they have punched their names on the ticket for the Semi-Finals, they are looking to get past any team that comes their way.

"We're getting to the do-or-die games now. We can't afford to lose. We cannot go back home with a third or fourth place."

He recalls Egypt losing the Semi-Finals to Mali two years ago. "Like I said, we cannot afford to lose at this stage. We came for the title and to grab one of the two tickets for the FIBA U19 World Cup. And we are going to fight to the end," he concludes.

FIBA