LUANDA (Angola) - Egypt became the first team in the 2025 AfroBasket to claim an automatic quarter-final berth after staving off the challenge posed by Group D opponents Uganda at the Pavilhao Multiusos de Luanda on Saturday.
The Egyptians triumphed 77-64, with Amr el Gendy's 17 points, Patrick Gardner's 15 points, and Mido Taha and Omar Oraby's 10 points paving the way to the last eight. The Pharaohs also finished the Group with a 3-0 record.
Uganda were led in scoring by Deng John Geu's 19 points, Robinson Opong's 14 points and Naseef Lubowa's 13 points.
After Senegal beat Mali in the first game, Egypt knew only a win would guarantee them a place in the quarter-final.
The first quarter would be a close affair between Egypt and Uganda. The Silverbacks had an 18-13 point lead with 37 seconds to play but a pair of Gardner free-throws and an El Gendy drive and deft shoulder drop saw him squeeze the ball into the bucket, making it a one-point (18-17) game.
It was still a tight affair in the second quarter, with the undersized Ugandans making a contest. In the dying minutes (1:58), a Deng hook shot saw the Silverbacks get it back to two points (31-29), and his free throws would tie the game 31-31. Ibrahim Zahran restored Egypt's lead with his second bucket, but Naseef Lubowa tied matters (33-33) immediately as the clock hit the 59-second mark.
It took a made free throw at the death by Mido Taha for Egypt to head into half-time with a single-digit (34-33) lead.
From the third quarter, there was a frenzied exchange of buckets between the two teams. Uganda's Opong got things going with three, but Khaled responded for Egypt with nifty footwork, spinning Uganda Komagum to make it 36-36. Both teams would fire at each other until the 5:33-minute point. Zahran stepped up with consecutive fast break points, which first cut Uganda's lead to one (41-40) and then gave the Pharaohs the lead 42-41, forcing George Galanopoulos to call a time-out.
TURNING POINT: The time-out did little to quell the wrath of Egypt, whose eight-point run led to them building a 12-point lead (55-43). Abdelgawad's free throws, a Gardner fastbreak dunk and El Gendy's two trips to the charity stripe widened the gap for Egypt.
HERO: El Gendy stepped up as a leader, again bringing craft and intelligent play to Egypt's victory. He was 5/10 from field goal and 2/4 from three-point range.
STATS DON'T LIE: Egypt's massive 53 points from the bench, 23 points from turnovers and 14 second chance points told the tale of their dominance.
BOTTOMLINE: Egypt got the job done. It was not easy or beautiful against the motivated Silverbacks, but in competitions like the AfroBasket, teams take the victory in any way possible.
WHAT THEY SAID: We feel good. We locked in for the three games. We now have to get ready for the quarter-final games. I am very proud of my coaches and teammates," said Egypt's Patrick Gardner.
FIBA