BRAZZAVILLE (Republic of Congo) - On the last day of Group C of the 2027 Road to BAL, Avenir du Rail of the Republic of Congo repeated their performance from the previous two days, closing their stellar campaign undefeated. Meanwhile, DR Congo's Onatra reversed their fortunes, claiming their only victory.
Below, we take a look back at the group's final two games:
Avenir du Rail complete unbeaten run
In a remarkable display, the hosts of Group C protected their home court by beating the highly-rated FAP of Cameroon 62-59.
This three-point victory was the Republic of Congo champions' slimmest margin of victory throughout the three-day event held at the Gymnase Henry Elende in Brazzaville.
This was a make-or-break clash for FAP, who entered the contest with a win-loss record of 1-1; beating the hosts was essential.
However, things went from bad to worse for FAP, particularly at the defensive end. They allowed Avenir du Rail to take control in the third quarter, when they used a 12-0 run to turn a 36-40 deficit into a 48-40 lead.
Samuel Mouyayangui achieved his third consecutive double-figure scoring performance, leading the hosts with 25 points and finishing a rebound shy of a double-double for the third game in a row.
FAP struggled to score from almost every corner of the court, finishing 20 for 59, with Jacques Ekoume the only player to score in double digits, finishing with 14 points.
Ekoumé's teammate Yann Fondong had a night to forget, shooting 1 for 7 for an eight-point performance. However, FAP's downfall came at the free-throw line, where they shot 15 for 27.
Avenir du Rail finished top of Group C in the 2027 Road to BAL, while Cameroon's FAP finished bottom of the four-team event. They qualified for the West Division Elite 16 to be held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire in November.
Did Onatra's win come too late?
Onatra arrived in Brazzaville from neighbouring Kinshasa with high hopes for the four-team, three-day event, but things didn't necessarily work out as planned.
DR Congo's champions had to wait until the final day of the qualifying tournament to secure their first victory.
Nevertheless, it was a significant win. They defeated Gabon's Espoir Basket Club 66–59 to finish third in Group C.
Onatra were so determined to turn things around that they led for almost the entire game. At one point, they even had a 19-point lead before settling for a seven-point victory.
DR Congo international player Noe Cuma, who only sat out for one minute, delivered his second 19-point performance to become the only Onatra player to score in double digits.
His teammate Omar Siby contributed eight points and nine rebounds as they closed their Group C campaign with a 1–2 record.
Espoir's Hermann Igowe finished with a game-high 21 points and 9 rebounds, but this wasn't enough to prevent their second group defeat.
Point-differential, Rankings
After three games, Avenir du Rail topped Group A with a perfect 3-0 record.
Gabon's Espoir, DR Congo's Onatra and Cameroon's FAP all finished with a similar 1–2 win–loss record, but the point differential proved to be the tie-breaker.
Espoir finished second, Onatra came third and FAP finished bottom of Group C.
FIBA