ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - Beating two heavyweights - Angola and Nigeria - that dominated basketball on the continent of Africa in recent years is a feat like no other, and becoming the first African nation to qualify for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup undefeated is a huge achievement for Cote d'Ivoire. 

Months before the start of the World Cup African Qualifiers, the Elephants of Cote d'Ivoire had already shown signs of rapid progress that could threaten higher-ranked teams in Africa, and when they became the first team beat Angola (57-56) on Angolan soil for the very first time in more than three decades, Cote d'Ivoire's morale skyrocketed.

That historic win in Angola in November 2021 triggered the Ivorians to an unbeaten run, making Cote d'Ivoire the only team in Africa without tasting defeat in 2022.

 
And, Maxence Dadiet, the man who scored winning tip-in, couldn't have had a better debut with Cote d'Ivoire. 

"To be honest I couldn’t really appreciate the moment because it was only the first game of the window and we had two more to play. But it was a also my first official FIBA game with Ivory Coast. Later with the qualification, I realized it was a key moment," said the 23-year-old in an interview with FIBA.basketball.

What makes this Cote d'Ivoire team special? "Consistency and continuity" played a role, Natxo Lezkano once said. 

But Lezkano, saw his tenure at the helm of Cote d'Ivoire come to an end last August, and Dejan Prokic took over. 

Despite the coaching change, Cote d'Ivoire maintained their winning ways. 

Maxence Dadiet

"I think that solidarity and team spirit within the team made the result," Dadiet explained before falling in line with Lezkano's view: "We know each other for long and everybody is going in the same direction. In offense you can't really know who will get in the zone, and it makes us tough to scout."

Dadiet who currently plays for Toulouse Basket Club in France's NM1, added: "Defense was definitely the key of our game plan because we had low field-goals percentage in some games, but defense was always there. That is what made us an undefeated team."

Cote d'Ivoire used 19 players over the course of nine games, but only a handful of them played all nine games so far (Vafessa Fofana, Guy Edi, Maxence Dadiet, Jean Francois Kebe, and Cedric Bah). 

Dadiet has been fundamental for the Ivorians, averaging 12.1 points and 3.1 assists per game. Those numbers, he says, have been uplifting.

"This [World Cup] ticket means a lot to me. I was injured [at some point] and I couldn't even imagine to be able to play at an international level. So making it to the World Cup this early in my career is a blessing and I'm already working on that [WC] schedule." 

Maxence Dadiet

Along the way, Cote d'Ivoire beat the likes of Angola, Nigeria, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Guinea, and Uganda.

We need to go back to September 5, 2021 to find the Ivorians' last loss. It was the final of the 2021 AfroBasket when they fell short in the final against Tunisia.

By qualifying for the World Cup for the second straight time, Cote d'Ivoire have drawn a new chapter in African basketball, considering the difficult positions former African champions Nigeria and Tunisia sit ahead of the final qualifying window in February 2023.

Comfort, Dadiet says, isn't part of Cote d'Ivoire's vocabulary. "We are a winning team," he explained when asked about comfortable position with three African Qualifiers games left. "We are not going to show up there and lose. We want to make it perfect. I don't even know if it's already happened [To qualify undefeated]." 

Since the start of FIBA's new competition system in November 2017, no African team has qualified with a perfect record. Nigeria, Tunisia, and Senegal finished 10-2 to qualify for China 2019.

Judging by Dadiet's words, Cote d'Ivoire won't rest in their laurels, and winning the remaining three games isn't out of equation. 

FIBA