RADES (Tunisia) - For the second time in row, Cameroon began a World Cup qualifying on the losing side, prompting Coach Alfred Aboya to admit that they were far off of their full capabilities.
Three years, Cameroon opened their qualifying campaign for the 2023 World Cup with a 55-51 loss to Tunisia before finishing with 4-8 and missing the train to the 2023 World Cup held in Indonesia, Japan and Philippines.
Hats off to Cape Verde. They played a good game - Alfred Aboya
Right after Cameroon's 82-77 loss to Cape Verde in the opener of the 2027 World Cup African Qualifiers on Thursday, Coach Aboya was succinct: "There is no time to cry. The team that I know and the team that African continent is accustomed to see has to show up tomorrow."
Cape Verde overcame a shocking slow start to the game, but the islanders progressively turned things around.
Jordan Bayehe scored the first points of the African Qualifiers with a spin move over a defender, setting the tone a commanding 10-0 lead that appeared to spark Cameroon to an easy lead.
But the Cape Verdeans weren't prepared to go down without a fight and made the most of their three-point ability to start their World Cup qualifying with a statement.
Joel Almeida and debutant Davide Buccilli hit a three-pointer each to cut their deficit to 10-6, and that spark Cape Verde needed to gain control of the game.
Late in the second quarter, William Tavares, the younger brother of Real Madrid and Cape Verdean international Edy Tavares, came up with a number of plays that gave his county a 38-36 lead at the break and they never trailed again.
Cameroon struggled to protect their perimeter line, allowing Cape Verde to finish with 11 three-pointers.
At one stage, Cape Verde, who had been trailing by 10, found themselves leading by 10 (50–40) in the third quarter.
"Hats off to Cape Verde. They played a good game. I don't think we showed up today. We couldn't run and gave up transition after transition. We have to correct those mistakes in a heartbeat," Aboya insisted.
Landry Nnoko returned to the Cameroonian team for the first time since the 2019 World Cup qualifiers, taking the opportunity to lead his country with 14 points — a team high.
Brice Eyaga and Jordan Beyehe contributed 13 points each, while Cameroon's all-rounder, Jeremiah Hill, finished with 11.
Meanwhile, Ivan Almeida and his older brother Joel Almeida finished with 20 and 14 points respectively, leading Cape Verde to a winning start to their campaign.
"Defence wins championships is not a cliché," admitted Aboya. "One thing you can never do is allow the opponent to do whatever they want. The game starts and ends with defence. We need to bring that effort, resilience and fighting spirit tomorrow [against Libya]. That's the plan we have for tomorrow's game against Libya," Aboya admitted.
FIBA