DAKAR (Senegal) - On Sunday, the Group B clash between Côte d’Ivoire and Madagascar produced the highest scoreline of the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup Africa Qualifiers.
Côte d’Ivoire emerged victorious with a final score of 118-102, setting a new record for the qualifiers with a combined total of 220 points.
Côte d’Ivoire faced stronger opposition from Madagascar than in February and March, when they won 99–74.
The Ivorians finished their group stage campaign with a 5–1 record, while Madagascar can take heart from their performance despite heading home winless (0–6).
Although Madagascar conceded another 100 points after losing 101-59 to Senegal on Saturday, they gave the Ivorians a tough time, and coach Miguel Ramos will be grateful that his team's three-point shooting was on form, as this was one of the things that won them the game.
The Ivorians made 44.12% (15/34) of their three-point shots in the fixture.
The game's leading scorer, Assemien Moulare, made five of his seven attempts, while Jean Phillipe Dally scored 19 points by making all four of his three-point shots.
Despite their victory, Aboubacar Traoré felt that the team could have performed better against Madagascar.
"We did not start the game we would have liked. They grew more confident. They did what they wanted. We have a month and a half to fix all those things. Watch film and come back and do better for the next window,” said Aboubacar Traore, who scored 12 on the day.
Côte d'Ivoire's 12-0 run set them up for the rest of the game. The Ivorians' accuracy (3/5) at the three-point line early on gave them a sizeable advantage, with Moulare scoring two-of-two and David Gissaud landing his sole attempt.
Point guard Moulare's knack for scoring got him a quick 10 points in the first quarter.
Sitraka Raharimanantoanina's nine points off 4-of-6 attempts kept the Malagasy in the battle, and the big man showed his ability to facilitate with three assists.
Madagascar did make a game of it in the second quarter against their more fancied opponents.
Star point guard Mathias M'Madi came alive, as he added five points to the three-pointer he scored in the first quarter, as they outscored Côte d'Ivoire 31-26 and went into the second half trailing the game by five points (60-55).
In the third quarter, Elephants managed to take little of the fight out of Madagascar with a 12-2 run, which included threes from Moulare and Zouzoua, and on the other side, Kiady Razamahenina's free throws and Kevin Yebo and four points from Aboubacar Traore put the Ivorians up by 14 (80-66).
The Malagasy did reduce the deficit to four, 85-81, at one stage in the fourth, but the Ivorians pulled away to win by 16.
Raharimanantoanina, who finished with 23 points, was happy with how the team competed and feels the future is bright.
"I am really proud. There is something we can do in the future. We have a young team, and there are guys in it who play in the US. So we can do more," said Raharimanantoanina.
FIBA