AfroBasket - Defending champs Tunisia survive Morocco scare

ABIDJAN (AfroBasket/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Day 2 of AfroBasket 2013 was marked by an astonishing performance by Morocco who forced the defending champions Tunisia to wait until the very end of their game to celebrate a 56-54 win thanks to a Macram Ben Romdhane lay-up in the dying seconds.

The game though was also marked by a worrying moment occured when Morocco's Soufiane Kourodu fell unconscious with three minutes remaining and had to receive medical assistance and remains under close supervision.

The day's action got underway with Rwanda denying AfroBasket debutants Burkina Faso a win as they prevailed 80-61 in the Group B opener.

Rwanda's Kenneth Gasana, Kami Kabangu and Cameron Bradley combined for 63 points while Burkina Faso's Moussa Ouattara and Jean Paul Bayala each had 10 to pace the debutants.

Despite a 74-43 win over the Republic of Congo in Group D action, the impression was that Cameroon can play better than they did even as Christian Bayang and Brice Vounang showed some sharp shooting that will be much needed later in the competition.

Congo trailed by just seven points at the break but didn't do much the rest of the way because of Cameroon's full-court pressure defense.

The game marked Luc Mbah a Moute's return to the competition after his national team debut at AfroBasket 2007, although he did not play the best game of his career as he turned the ball over four times and contributed with only five points.

There was also a heated contest in the paint between Gaston Essengue and Jean Felix Moupegnou.

In the highly-anticipated game of the day that saw Nigeria back in action on African soil since a successful FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament run qualified them the London Olympics last year, Ayodele Bakare's men took 13 minutes to take the first lead of the game as they trailed 18-14 in the opening quarter against a surprisingly good Mali team, before eventually going on to a 74-59 victory.

The night belonged to Ike Diogu who had 19 points and netted a crucial three-pointer to give Nigeria a 31-27 lead before the break, although the most exuberant player of the game was Mali's 23-year-old Namory Boundy who had a game-high 21 points with 12 coming from behind the arc.

For full and in-depth coverage of AfroBasket 2013, go to the official website http://abidjan2013.fibaafrica.com/.

FIBA