LUANDA (Angola) – Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda and Cote d'Ivoire have secured the last tickets for the 2023 FIBA AfroCan Quarter-Finals after they edged out Cameroon, Gabon, Mozambique and Mali, respectively.

HOW DID THEY SECURE THE LAST FOUR TICKETS TO THE QUARTER-FINALS?

Morocco became the first team to qualify for the Last Eight 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'Ivoire claimed the last ticket for the Quarter-Finals after beating Mali.

Morocco v Cameroon 78-50

Mohamed Choua

The classification game between Morocco and Cameroon held all its promises.

There was blood and sweat as both teams left if all on the court in a quest for one of the last four Quarter-Final tickets.

But Morocco were more realistic and showed it from tip-off.

Leading by as much as 11 points (14-3) into the first quarter, Morocco 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 the control on 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, whereby they contributed 5 to 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 time to rest and focus on the Quarter Finals,” he said.

He also recalls how aggressive Cameroon were. "Tactically, they weren’t that bad. But we knew it would be war and we were ready."

He went on saying that Morocco were better from behind the arc. "We're not on point with our shooting from behind the arc. But we're on a learning curve and we're happy we could reap 27 points from behind the arc," he added.

Nigeria v Gabon 71-55

Johnson Anaiye

The Nigeria v Gabon was a much-awaited game as the latter had previously caused one of the tournament's shock 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 for 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.

"When we tied, we started struggling. But we're aligning bit by bit. Along the line, we're trying to redeem our best. Now that we’re going to play DR Congo, it’s either go big or go home," says Agu.

He promises things will get better. "We’re not going to give them any chances to get the ball through. We're still struggling but we’re not leaving a stone unturned for our next game", he concluded.

Mozambique v Rwanda 62-73

William Robeyns

Rwanda were 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 Ndayisaba 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 the behind the arc and along with another perfect 3 out of 3 from the charity line.

"Those two shots I missed against Morocco had me upset a bit. 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 speaking to FIBA.basketball.

Mozambique tried to response with Augusto Pio Matos (12 points), Elves Houana (10 points) and Baggio Lourenco Chimonzo (10 points), but their efforts amounted to nothing much.

"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 Angola in their Quarter Final in a do-or-die game.

Cote d'Ivoire v Mali 72-58

Mike Fofana

Cote d'Ivoire are showing that they should be considered as title contenders after they saw off Mali in the classification round 72-58. The Elephants counted of 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.

"It was a tough game as Mali spared no effort to get as close as they could possibly get to us. But we decided we should have fun on the court rather than stress out and the results show", said Fofana.

While they had built up an 8-point lead by half-time, a moment 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."

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. "We need to correct these little details to be perfect", he added.

Quarter Finals will be played tomorrow 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 third game of the day while Tunisia and Cote d'Ivoire will fight for the last Semi-Final spot.

FIBA