ALG - Algeria's historic win

ABIDJAN (AfroBasket/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - The only thing Mehdi Cheriet and Mohamed Harat knew going into Thursday's game is that they had to beat Egypt on the second day of Group A action in order to boost their confidence for the remainder of the AfroBasket 2013, but in the end they also made history.

The pair combined for 37 points and were unaware of the significance of their performances as Algeria toppled Egypt 67-63 to put an end to an exactly eight-year winless drought in AfroBasket competition.

On 22 August 2005, as hosts of the tournament, Algeria defeated Morocco 81-66 in the Quarter-Finals before Senegal denied them a place in the Final.

That moment marked Algeria's last appearance in the competition, until they secured their AfroBasket return in June of last year along Africa zone 1 rivals Morocco.

France-born Cheriet offers Algeria his USA college and European basketball experience.

He represented France at youth tournaments, but did not think much when he was invited to represent the country of his ancestors.

Cheriet - who plies his trade in France's Pro B with Boulazac - spoke to FIBA.com and explained that Algeria are not in Abidjan to make up numbers and revealed the move forward for Algerian basketball.

"I have learned when I lived in the United States that you must dream big. If you dream big and work hard, good things happen," he said minutes after Thursday's win.

"This victory means a lot to us after losing the opening game against Cote d'Ivoire. We had to win this game.

"Today, we fought throughout the game and we want to portray this team as a group of fighters.

"I had a bad first game, and as leader of this team I had to play my best game," Cheriet said in reference to his game-high 23 points.

The result is much needed as men's basketball programmes looked to be under threat in Algeria as they missed out on AfroBasket qualification for three consecutive editions (2007, 2009 and 2011).

Despite the historic win, head Coach Faid Bilal maintains there is a lot of work to do.

"It is just one win," he said.

"Of course we are proud with the win, but we must work harder to reach the level of Africa’s top teams."

Algeria made its only appearance at a FIBA World Championship back in 2002 in Indianapolis following a silver medal at AfroBasket 2001.

At the time, a younger Faid Bilal coached the team.

If Algeria finish in the top three in Abidjan, they will secure one the three places on offer for African teams for 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