RADES (Tunisia) - Guinea stunned the hosts, Tunisia, with a 66–57 victory, reaffirming their progress in African basketball.
Nine months after Tunisia beat them at the last moment in their last meeting at the 2025 AfroBasket Qualifiers in Libya, Guinea took to the Salle Omnisport de Rades Arena ready to make history — and they did so in style.
Tunisia became the third top-10 ranked African team to lose to Guinea in the last three months, after South Sudan and Nigeria.
Guinea finished Window 1 of the African Qualifiers as the only undefeated team, having won all three of their games.
Guards Shannon Evans and Souleyman Boum Jr proved crucial, leading Guinea with 24 and 22 points respectively.
The World Cup dream is real insisted Guinea coach Nedjelko Asceric after the historic victory.
This is a significant moment for Guinean basketball, which had a combined win-loss record of 2–16 in the last two editions of the World Cup African Qualifiers, in 2019 and 2023.
Winning three games in a row opens a new chapter in the country's sporting history.
"No sport in Guinea has ever played at a World Cup before. We have the right to dream," Coach Asceric emphasised.
Tunisia went into the game on the back of two straight wins in Group C, but they were unable to match Guinea's physicality and sense of urgency.
Guinea contested every one of Tunisia's attempts to attack the basket, forcing the former African champions to turn the ball over 22 times.
"We are rebuilding at the moment," said Tunisia head coach Adel Tlatli, who led his country to their first African title in 2011.
"We have to naturalise a player. That's a decision for the federation board," Tlatli admitted.
FIBA