SHEFFIELD (Julio Chitunda's African Message) - The First Round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers is now a thing of the past but some plays had a huge impact for the remainder of the competition.

Obviously each play matters throughout a basketball game. And the price to pay for an apparent inconsequential missed free-throw, a moment of distraction or a turnover, can leave scars. 

Since the start of the African Qualifiers last November I watched - live or via livebasketball.tv - most games, and these five got me thinking that the First-Round could have had a different ending.

These are the five games that changed the African Qualifiers so far.

Morocco v DR Congo (61-58) June 30, 2018, Cairo

After upsetting hosts Egypt in the opener of the second-leg of Group C, the Congolese seemed destined to their second straight win. But Morocco weren't prepared to give in without a fight. 

Morocco point guard Ali Lahrichi found Zakaria El Masbahi who hit a buzzer-beater three-pointer that tied the game at 51-all at the end of the regulation. In the extra five, Morocco prevailed.

 OUTCOME: Had Congo defeated Morocco in Cairo, they would have bolstered their chances of remaining in contention for China 2019. Instead, they were eliminated despite a 66-56 triumph over Angola on last day. Congo returned home with an overall record of 2-4.

Cameroon v Tunisia (66-67) November 26, 2017, Yaounde

Omar Abada’s inbound pass finds Mokhtar Ghyaza wide open for a game-winning easy layup with 13 seconds remaining. Was that distraction from Cameroon or the Tunisians executed the play to perfection? Never mind.

OUTCOME: Tunisia not only closed the First Round undefeated in three games but they advanced to the Second Round with a perfect record of 6-0. Cameroon missed the chance of protecting their home court.

Mali v Uganda (79-76) February 24, 2018, Bamako

Uganda were on the brink of upsetting hosts Mali. But Mali guard Mahamadou Kante had other plans in mind. After a Mali timeout with ten seconds on the shot clock, Kante hit a buzzer-beater three-pointer to give Mali the win to the dismay of Ugandans.

 OUTCOME: Although this was a Group B first-leg game, Uganda later realized how detrimental that loss was. Mali advanced to the Second Round while Uganda were eliminated.

Jimmy Enabu sets a three-point record, February 23, 2018, Bamako

As Uganda tried to secure their first win of the African Qualifiers, shooting guard Jimmy Enabu came up big.

And although Nigeria prevailed 102-86, Enabu’s three-pointer with 3:25 remaining entered the history books as he became the first player to convert six three-pointers in a single African Qualifiers game so far.

Jordan Nwora sets an African Qualifiers record for most points scored in a game, July 1, 2018, Lagos

Nigeria had already been dominant in the first-leg of Group B, and adding 19-year-old Jordan Nwora made the former African champions even stronger. 

 
Four months earlier, Enabu had established a tournament-high 27 points, but Nwora entered the African Qualifiers top scorers conversation with a sequence of terrific plays as he finished with 36 points in a 93-53 win over Mali.

The battle for the five tickets for African teams for next year's FIBA Basketball World Cup in China resumes in September with 12 teams divided into two groups of six each. 

Julio Chitunda
FIBA

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