ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - Côte d'Ivoire and Egypt faced off in a Group A matchup, both coming off impressive victories in their opening tournament games two days earlier.
On Wednesday, the hosts secured a dominant 104-51 victory against Chad while Egypt beat Nigeria 95-60, and therefore the Friday clash was more or less a decider on who would top the group.
Backed by home fans, Côte d’Ivoire delivered another commanding performance in the 89-62 win to maintain their unbeaten status at the tournament.
A closely contested game in the first quarter swung in the next couple of periods as the Ivorians raised the aggressiveness on defence.
Karl-Randell Kouame-Zeze and Nathan Djako were once again at the center of Côte d’Ivoire’s success with 18 and 12 points respectively. Jason Ake and Raphael Ouedraogo also shone for Côte d’Ivoire.
At one point in the game, Egypt had a short-lived two-point lead, but Côte d'Ivoire's 33-point advantage midway through the fourth quarter left no doubt about the victors.
The Ivorians took the floor ready to protect their home court, and they did so in style. They won the rebounding battle (52-43), displayed exceptional ball movement, as evidenced by their 25 assists, and disrupted Egypt's offense with 16 steals.
At times, Egypt appeared helpless, turning the ball over 30 times, which the Ivorians used to score 33 points.
Despite Rami Madgy's impressive performance with 17 points, seven rebounds, and three steals in 30 minutes and Assad Hendawy's double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, Egypt was no match for the Ivorians.
With the loss, Egypt dropped to 1-1 in the group, with one game left against Chad on Sunday while undefeated Côte d'Ivoire take a Nigeria chasing their first win two games into the 2026 FIBA U18 AfroBasket.
FIBA