BAMAKO (Mali) - The Democratic Republic of Congo won the maiden edition of FIBA AfroCan after seeing off Kenya 82-61 on Saturday night at Palais des Sports Salamatou Maiga in the Malian capital city of Bamako.

The Congolese opened an 11-point lead after first period but the Kenyan rallied back in the second period winning by 19-7 points to gain a point lead at halftime 37-36 points.

DR Congo charged back in the third quarter winning by 29-10 points to take game out of the reach of the Kenyans.

The fourth period was no difference as the DR Congo gained another three-point lead (17-14) for a final score of 82-61 points to be crowned champion.

Maxi Shamba(DR Congo) was voted MVP of the FIBA AfroCan 2019

Maxi Shamba who sparked the Congolese came up with team-high 20points, and 7 rebounds.

Three of his teammates recorded double figure as follows : Evariste Shonganya (18), Rolly Fula Nganga (15) and Jordan Sakho (10). 

On the other side Tylor Ongwae proved crucial for Kenya but his game-high 21points were not enough to avoid his team's defeat.

Shamba was elected Most Valuable Player of the tournament, headlining the All-Star Five of the Tournament alongside Tylor Ongwae(Kenya),Edson Ndoniema(Angola), Tom Wamukota(Kenya) and Jordan Sacko(DR Congo).

Earlier in the day, Angola routed Morocco 88-71 to seal the last spot on the podium.

Final Standing of the FIBA AfroCan 2019:

1.DR Congo
2.Kenya
3.Angola
4.Morocco
5.Mali
6.Chad
7.Tunisia
8. Algeria
9. Egypt
10.Cote d’Ivoire
11.Nigeria
12. Guinea 

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