Addami, Marnaoui send Tunisia to the Quarter-Finals
LUANDA (Angola) - Oussama Marnaoui and Ahmed Addami had performances for the ages on Monday to help Tunisia beat Morocco 67-52 and qualify for the 2023 FIBA AfroCan Quarter-Finals.
LUANDA (Angola) - Oussama Marnaoui and Ahmed Addami had performances for the ages on Monday to help Tunisia beat Morocco 67-52 and qualify for the 2023 FIBA AfroCan Quarter-Finals.
Tunisia won Group C undefeated in two games and won't return to action until Thursday, July 13 for their Quarter-Final match-up.
Meanwhile, Morocco dropped to 1-1 and will have a second chance to advance to elimination round on Wednesday, July 12 in a Classification Round for the Quarter-Finals against Cameroon.
Oussama Marnaoui
TURNING POINT : Tunisia stepped on the floor on a mission and never gave Morocco a chance of contemplating a win.
Abdelhakim Zouita opened the score with a 3-pt shot a minute into the game, but when Firas Lahiani gave Tunisia a 6-5 lead two minutes later, Tunisia never trailed again.
Tunisia reached their largest of the game - an 18-point advantage - in the second half, and as much as Morocco tried to fight back, Tunisia never panicked to improve their 2023 AfroCan record to 2-0.
Tunisia's 39-31 halftime was just a sign of what was to come.
HEROES : Both Addami and Marnaoui were perfect from behind the arc. Just like Marnaoui, Addami finished 3-for-3 from long.
And although Addami came off the bench, he recorded a team-high of 15 points while Marnaoui was 4-for-7 to finish with 14 points.
Ahmed Addami
STATS DON'T LIE : At the end of the first half Morocco's offense was affected by the subpar performances of key players Mohamed Choua, Zouita and Kevin Franchesci who went to the locker room with 2, 4, and 9 points, respectively.
But the biggest difference between Tunisia and Morocco lied in the rebounding battle, where the former had a 45-22 advantage.
Kevin Franchesci's game-high of 18 points and Soufiane Kourdou's 12 turned out insufficient for Morocco to win the game.
BOTTOM LINE: By the end of the first quarter there was never a question who would win the game. Tunisia looked more focused and determined to control the game, and that was reflected in the single lead change.
Tunisia continue to show signs of title credentials, and enjoying three rest days before their Quarter-Finals clash couldn't have come at the right time for a team trying to create a new identity.
THEY SAID: "Unlike us, Tunisia had a rest day yesterday. So, fatigue played a part in this game. " - Morocco heads coach Labib El Hamrani.
FIBA