AfroBasket - Senegal's buzzer-beater and singing crowd mark AfroBasket opening day

ABIDJAN (AfroBasket/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - An historic win for Mozambique, a breathtaking Senegal triumph and a record sell-out Palais des Sports marked the opening day of AfroBasket 2013 in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire on Tuesday as 16 African teams compete for three places at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

In Group A's opening game, Egypt were left heartbroken by a buzzer-beating basket by Senegal's Ibrahima Mbengue in the dying seconds helped his team take a 72-70 win.

The Senegalese were up by as many as 16 points, but a young determined Egyptian team led by Assem Marei showed enormous grit throughout the game but fell short in the wrong moment.

Egypt's plan of competing for the AfroBasket title in 2015 became more evident as Amir Abou-Elkir’s men showed enormous determination against a highly-experienced Senegal paced by Mouhammad Faye.

He had game-high 20 points and made clear that his Senegal team has potential enough to contend for the three spots for Spain 2014.

In the first game of the day, Mozambique bounced back from a 17-point deficit to stun Central African Republic (CAF) 70-66 thanks to a stellar performance by Sivio Letela who came off the bench to nail three three-pointers.

This was an historic victory for Mozambique who had never beaten CAF in AfroBasket history. The game was of extreme significance for Mozambique as it ended their four-game losing streak in AfroBasket competition.

For CAF, the defeat means a hard schedule to come, not only because head coach Fred Goporo only took 10 players to Abidjan, but because they will have to overcome both Cape Verde and Angola in Group C.

In the most highly-anticipated game of Group A, Algeria gave the hosts Cote d'Ivoire a tough time, although Kinidinnin Konate’s decisive plays in the waning minutes of the game allowed them to prevail 64-47.

Exciting point guard Abdelhalim Kaouane had a game-high five assists for the Algerians, but the night belonged to Konate and Mamadou Lamizana who came off the bench to lead the home nation with 13 points.

It became clear that whichever team faces the hosts will have more than an opponent on floor because of a tireless home crowd that sold out the Palais des Sports arena and cheered with every point their team scored.

No team made a bigger statement on Day 1 than Angola, who trounced Cape Verde 75-50 in the first Group C game as four players scored in double digits, led by Carlos Morais who had 21.

Angola made it clear they are in Abidjan to play for at least a place in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

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

FIBA