ABIDJAN (Côte d'Ivoire) - Less than 24 hours after losing to the host team, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt redeemed themselves with a 70-54 win over Angola.
It was Egypt's second consecutive victory against the former African champions, following their upset in the 2021 tournament in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
The Egyptians took the floor knowing that beating Angola was essential to reviving their tournament aspirations.
Angola, on the other hand, started their campaign the same way they ended their last one in 2023, losing to Guinea 71-69 in Kigali, Rwanda.
TURNING POINT: Angola showed signs of revival early in the game. However, allowing Egypt to go on a 12-0 scoring run in the fourth quarter, which gave the Egyptians a 35-23 lead at halftime, was the clearest indication of who would win.
Alexia Dizeko tied the game at 18-18 off an inbound pass from Italee Lucas, but Abdelgawad’s three-pointer gave Egypt a 21-18 lead. The Egyptians then took complete control.
Things went from bad to worse for Angola in the third quarter as Egypt extended their lead to as much as 21 points.
Egypt led from the opening tip-off to the final buzzer.
HERO: Egypt's cohesion and determination to fight back were key to Julian Martinez's team improving to 1-1.
Six of Egypt's eleven players scored at least two points each, and the team effort won the game for them. They led 55-34 at the end of the third quarter.
STATS DON'T LIE: Egypt was determined to get things done early on, and they force Angola to turn the ball over 13 times by halftime.
To make matters worse for Angola, they shot 0-for-10 from behind the arc at halftime, while Egypt looked relatively sharper, shooting 4-for-12 from deep.
Angola eventually shot 3-for-20 from behind the arc compared to Egypt's 7-for-20.
BOTTOM LINE: One undeniable fact was that Angola's starting lineup could not contain Egypt's desperation.
Coach Paulo Macedo found more solutions to his team's problems on the bench than in the starting lineup. Angola's bench outscored Egypt's 32-3.
Abdelgawad and Raneem Elgedawy scored the opening basket with a one-on-one against Cristina Matiquite, which was huge for the Pharaohs. The two players combined for 38 points for Egypt while spending over 25 minutes on the floor.
Abdelgawad eventually limped off the court after colliding with an opponent.
Sara Caetano did everything she could to keep her country in the game. She finished with a team-high 18 points, but only one other Angolan, Alexia Dizeko, scored in the double digits with 11 points.
Egypt's win keeps them in the running for a spot in the quarterfinals, while Angola urgently needs to find a way to minimize the damage against the host team, Côte d'Ivoire, on Monday.
With a focus on fast-break plays and aggressive defense, Egypt exceeded expectations, while Angola left much to be desired.
THEY SAID: "We knew the Egyptian team desperately needed to win, so we tried to turn the game in our favor. Unfortunately, they were more focused than we were. Congratulations to Egypt! We'll come back stronger tomorrow. That's what we must do!." - Angola guard, Sara Caetano.
"This is not the outcome we were aiming for, but I am confident that this result will help us bounce back and play better against Côte d'Ivoire tomorrow. I imagine some of the new players felt pressured playing their first AfroBasket. We never underestimated Egypt, but we stepped onto the court feeling relaxed. It will be a tough game against the home team, but our goal is to play better." - Angola forward, Avelina Peso.
"Angola is a great team. We've played them a few times before, but we won this game because we needed to. We came in really focused. We stuck to our game plan and executed it well. We put the loss against Côte d'Ivoire behind us and came out with energy." Egypt center, Raneem Elgedawy.
FIBA