ALGIERS (Algeria) - Algeria on Wednesday moved a step closer to the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 Qualifiers after beating Cape Verde 79-67 in the opening of a two-game playoff series in Algiers.

Kamel Ammour led all scorers with 19 points, Samir Mekdad added 14, Hicham Benayard-Cherif came up with 18 points and Mohamed Touati contributed 12 points in the winning cause.

"WE ARE GOING TO NEED TO PLAY BETTER TOMORROW THAN WE DID IN THE FIRST GAME. IT'LL BE A TOUGH GAME."- Bilal

With seven-footer duo of Touati and Benayard-Cherif, Algeria took advantage of the mismatch which allowed them a number of easy points in the paint. And by the end of the opening quarter they led 23-10. 

But what appeared to be heading to an easy second quarter ride for the Algerians, it turned into a hard-fought battle with the islanders of Cape Verde playing a much composed game.

And Cape Verde head coach Emanuel Trovoada seems to have seen enough after ten minutes, and readjusted his team at both ends of the floor. The islanders outscored Algeria in the second quarter 20-15 although they headed to the locker room trailing 38-30.  

 Ivan Almeida, who landed in Algiers just a couple of hours before the game, inspired his team with 12 points and team-highs 10 rebounds and 3 assist, William Tavares was superb offensively with 11 points and Kevin Coronel added 16 points for Cape Verde.

Although Algeria led from start to finish, Cape Verde never really gave in, and heading to the last quarter with a 62-54 disadvantage reflected how determined the visitors were to stay in the game.

However a three-pointer from Mekdad with 1'35 minute left extended the Algerian lead to 75-64, and it practically sentenced the final score.  

Even though the 12-point win comes as a major morale boost for the Algerians, head coach Faid Bilal remains cautious. "We are going to need to play better tomorrow than we did in the first game. It'll be a tough game. We want to win, so do they," he admitted to FIBA.basketball after Wednesday's Game 1.

The last time Algeria and Cape Verde faced each other was at FIBA AfroBasket 2015 in Tunisia. Bilal noted that he now has a better assessment of their opponents.

"We didn't know much about Cape Verde prior to this series, and I don't think they knew much about us either. Cape Verde is a very good team with good players from good European leagues. They shoot the ball well and they caused us some troubles. 

"We have a very new and very young team, and I have total confidence in my players. The key to our victory was the way we defended." 

The win means Cape Verde will now need to beat Algeria by 13 points or more in the second game on Thursday to keep their FIBA AfroBasket aspirations alive.

The winner of this two-game series advance to Group D of the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 Qualifiers, which includes Nigeria, Mali and Rwanda.

FIBA