LUANDA (Angola) - Mali's Eagles had a shaky flight to a first victory over Uganda in Group D of the 2025 AfroBasket at the Pavilhao Multiusos de Luanda on Thursday afternoon.
A strong showing in the third quarter saw Mali beat the Silverbacks 85-70.
Both teams had suffered defeats in their opening games in the group, with Mali losing to Egypt and Uganda falling to Senegal.
Mahamane Coulibaly's team-high 25 points off a 10-for-16 shooting and Aliou Diarra's double-double (12 points and 10 rebounds) helped Mali's recovery in the group.
Deng John Geu's game-high 27 points and Robinson Opong's 19 points helped Uganda try to put up a brave fight.
Mali, backed by a small group of supporters who brought the noise with drums and horns, took charge of the game. At the end of the first quarter, they were up by a massive 17 points (25-8) against the Silverbacks, who were also undersized and no match physically.
The absence of big man Jacksen Moni due to injury in the first game against Senegal was a blow for Uganda.
Sirman Kanoute (6 points), Coulibaly (four points), Aliou Diarra (four points), and Mamoudou Diarra (four points) all contributed to Mali's big first-quarter lead.
Uganda made the game interesting in the second quarter.
Down 35-13 with the clock at 6:49, the Silverbacks went on a 14-point run, with Opong dropping a solitary bucket at the free throw line.
Deng scored nine, which included a three-pointer and a fastbreak bucket that made the score 35-27. It led to coach Alhadji Dicko calling a timeout to disrupt Uganda's momentum and stop the bleeding of points from his side. On each side of Deng's scoring frenzy, Jonathan Komagum made his free throws, and Emmanuel Womala also dropped a trey.
Mali would maintain their grip on the game with a 43-31 lead going into the second half.
Going into the third quarter, Uganda were surprisingly still in the contest. The closest they got to Mali was at the 5:14 mark when Opong sank his two free throws to make it a four-point game (49-45).
TURNING POINT: Mali regained the initiative with an eight-point run. Hassan Drame's three-pointer at the 4:47 mark in the third quarter provided the spark. Aliou Diarra's jumper and his single free throw and Mahamane Coulibaly's fast break bucket put the Eagles up 57-45. The Malians headed into the final quarter 10 points up (61-51).
HERO: Ibrahima Diarra led by example for Mali. He may not have topped the scoring charts for Mali or the game, but he made his presence felt with efficient play, sinking two of his three shots from beyond the arc and converting three of his four free throws.
STATS DON'T LIE: Mali dominated in the paint, scoring 34 points, and their bench scored 23. They also profited from fastbreak points (15).
BOTTOM LINE: The first group win lifts Mali's confidence. It also revives their campaign. With just one game left against their neighbours, Senegal on Saturday, they will throw everything into the contest to clinch a place in the next round.
WHAT THEY SAID: "We had a strong start in the first quarter. In the second, we went down a little bit and they got confident, but we kept swinging and swinging till they could take any more. It feels great whenever you get a win in this tournament. It's high-level competition, so it's always hard to win, so you can't take things for granted." - Mali center Oumar Ballo.
FIBA