DAKAR (Senegal) - Côte d'Ivoire continued their dominance over Senegal in competitive games, and what made their win in Thursday's FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifier sweeter was that it took place at the home team's Marius Ndiaye Gymnasium
The win was the second for the Ivorians against Senegal in a World Cup Qualifier, and it stretches the Elephants' record 7-4 over the Lions of Teranga.
Côte d'Ivoire were calm under pressure
Even in front of a crowd rooting for the home side, the Ivorian's execution was smooth. They kept their nerve, successfully making 26 out of 69 field goal attempts. It was a display of composure in the face of significant odds.
Another contributing factor was the bench, which contributed 49 points to the monumental victory.
Côte d'Ivoire coach Miguel Ramos was impressed by his team's performance on Thursday night.
"I am very happy. The strength of the team is the group. Ten players played many minutes. Everybody helped the team. Everybody scored. The bench scored 49 points, but that is not important for us because the bench players could have been the starters. What was important for us was how we wanted to play," said Ramos.
Solid defence and good shooting did the trick
Another factor in the Ivorians' victory was their ability to stop the Senegalese.
They achieved 11 steals and two blocks.
Rebounding was also a shared responsibility, with the Elephants collecting 47 rebounds.
It was three-point shooting that proved the difference for Côte d'Ivoire. The Elephants made 11 out of 39 three-point shots, creating some distance between themselves and Senegal. Kevin Yebo made four out of seven.
Nullifying the threat of Boissy
Playing good defence against BAL MVP Jean Jacques Boissy and making sure he did not ignite a Senegal comeback proved pivotal for Ramos' men.
"We wanted to put pressure on Boissy and try to keep the ball far away from him. I think that was one of the keys things in our defence," said Ramos. We know that Senegal are big, so we don't worry when they get many offensive rebounds. For us, the game plan was to keep the ball away from Boissy."
FIBA