BRAZZAVILLE (Republic of Congo) - Of the four teams competing in Brazzaville for a place in next month's Elite 16 Round, Avenir du Rail are still undefeated, while Cameroon's FAP suffered a shocking defeat.
The two Group C games on Sunday were anything but dull, as we will see in the paragraphs below.
Espoir cool down FAP to climd to second
Following their six-point loss (66-60) to Avenir du Rail the previous day, Sunday's game against Cameroon's FAP became a make-or-break moment for the Gabonese champions.
For Ronald Kolmia, Hermann Igouwe, Elvis Mpeti Mbwaka and their teammates, a loss against FAP on day two was never an option.
With this mindset clearly in place, the Gabonese side took to the court at the Gymnase Henry Elende in Brazzaville with a sense of urgency, and things worked out according to plan.
Espoir led from start to finish and, at one point, had a 15-point lead.
Despite FAP's efforts to fight back, the Gabonese saved their final blow for the fourth quarter, outscoring their opponents 18–6 to secure a 55–42 victory.
Igouwe delivered a stellar performance with 20 points, while his teammate Kolmia terrorised FAP's defence with drives and dominance in the paint, finishing with 19 points. Meanwhile, Mpeti Mbwaka protected their painted area with a game-high 17 rebounds and six blocks.
Yann Fodong was the only FAP player to score in double digits, finishing with 10 points.
With this win, Espoir climbed to second place in the group, while FAP dropped to third.
Can anyone stop the hosts?
Six seems to have become Avenir du Rail's lucky number.
The day after beating Espoir by six points (66–60), the hosts of Group C outscored DR Congo's Onatra by the same margin (81–75) to take the top spot in the group and remain the only undefeated team with one game left to play. After relatively balanced first, second and third quarters, Avenir du Rail outscored Onatra 31–15 in the final ten minutes to secure their second consecutive victory and demonstrate their purpose in Group C. Onatra forward Michael Tshibende achieved a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, but this was not enough to prevent the quartet of Samuel Mouyayangui, Desire Mouzita, Frederic Loubaki and Edlan Elenga from combining to score 63 of Avenir du Rail's 81 points.
While Mouyayangui fell just one rebound short of a double-double, Elenga finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds — his second consecutive double-double.
Avenir du Rail will conclude their Group C campaign against FAP on Monday.
FIBA