DAKAR (Senegal) - In a competition where every point counts to ensure a favourable position in the second round, Senegal seized the opportunity to defeat Madagascar 101-59.
This 42-point winning margin is the second largest after Côte d'Ivoire's 94–51 victory over the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Senegal also became the second team to reach the 100-point mark, following South Sudan's 109-79 victory over Cape Verde in the first round of Group A in Tunisia in November.
Having already qualified for the next round after beating Côte d’Ivoire on Thursday, Senegal showed no mercy to the islanders, who had suffered a 33-point defeat at the hands of the host nation in the first round of Group B (99-66).
Brancou Badio led the way for Senegal with 22 points and seven assists. Ibrahima Faye achieved an impressive double-double with 20 points and 10 blocks, while Ibou Badji scored 10 points and recorded eight blocks. Kara Sène also scored 10 points.
Senegal almost equalled their own blocks record (12) set on Thursday against Côte d’Ivoire, missing it by just one (11).
Defence was key for Senegal, with 42 of their 60 rebounds coming at the defensive end. Karim Mane and Moustapha Diop also recorded three steals each.
“Defence is our identity. We like to run. We are a team that likes transition offence,” said Diop. “We were missing Tacko (Fall). If he were present it would have made us even better.”
Interestingly, Madagascar matched Senegal in points scored in the paint, with Donovan Rakotononohary leading the charge to score 22 points.
The guard fearlessly attacked the West Africans, scoring 10 points in the first half. However, Madagascar went into the break trailing 52–28.
The home side never relented, and a quick 14-5 scoring run (66-33), completed by a Moustapha Diop three-pointer, led Malagasy coach Mickael Pivaud to call a time-out.
This did go some way in spurring on the Malagasy, who went on to make a 7–3 run with back-to-back fast-break buckets by Jerry Rabibisoa. This forced Diop to call his own time-out to get his team back on track.
Senegal are full of confidence and will be looking to end their campaign on a high by beating DR Congo on Sunday evening.
FIBA