Diabate leads Cote d'Ivoire comeback to stun Algeria and finish second in Group D

RADES (AfroBasket 2015) - Souleyman Diabate's heroics continued on Monday as he ignited Cote d'Ivoire to an 81-74 victory over Algeria on the final day of the Group Phase.

The 1.87m point guard played all but 56 seconds and finished with a team-high 26 points as the Ivoirians finished second in Group D behind Cape Verde.

Diabate was simply superb. He made all his eight of his two-point attempts, hit two three-pointers and dished out a game-high 6 assists to as the 'Elephants' improved to 2-1 mark heading into their Round of 16 clash against Mali on Tuesday.

Mohamed Harat's game-highs of 27 points and 14 rebounds off the bench for Algeria went to waste as they committed 20 turnovers.

Mehdi Cheriet added 15 points, but it was the Algerian substitutes which did the work as they contributed 44 points, more than half of the team's total.  

Turning Point: Cote d'Ivoire took over in the last five minutes of the game and never looked back again.

Stats Don't Lie: Algeria only made 12 of their 21 free throws (57 percent).

Game Hero: Diabate remains Cote d'Ivoire's inspirational leader.

The Bottom Line: Algeria led for most of the contest but paid the price for making sloppy plays down the stretch. Cote d'Ivoire capitalised on the tireless support from their travelling fans who believed as much as their hero Diabate. Algeria will take on Cameroon on Wednesday in their Round of 16 clash.

FIBA