DAKAR (Senegal) - Forty-eight hours after Senegal's subpar performance against Egypt, Brancou Badio proved his worth.
In a game with 22 lead changes, the home team trailed by one, 82-81, in the last minute. Pape Ndiaye found Badio wide open on the weak side, and the new Panathinaikos player sank a much-needed three-pointer to secure the 84-82 win over Angola.
"A win is a win" was the most repeated saying in the Dakar Arena corridors and at the press conference room.
Senegal desperately needed to bounce back from their 76-67 loss to Egypt, and Badio made sure to overcome his 0-11 shooting slump from deep against Egypt to boost Senegal's African Qualifiers campaign.
The trouble was that Badio and company had the reigning African champions in front of them.
As much as Senegal tried to go on runs, the Angolans never panicked. They hit three after three to compensate for their underperformance in the paint, where Senegal out-rebounded them 47-30.
Badio shot 3-for-6 from behind the arc, dished out eight assists, and derailed the Angolan offense with a steal to finish with a game and team high of 24 points.
For most of the more than 2,600 fans who filled the Dakar seats, the job was done, despite the narrow margin.
Senegal's win comes just 24 hours before their highly anticipated match against Mali, a team with the same win-loss record (6-2).
"We needed a win, and the guys got it done. Angola was tough to beat, but we're just happy to have won. We don't have much time to celebrate, though, as we need to prepare for another tough battle against Mali," Senegal coach DeSagana Diop said.
Selton Miguel was terrific, shooting 5-for-6 from deep to finish with a game-high of 28 points, but the Angolans, known for their aggressive defensive style of play were left wondering how Pape Ndiaye was able to find Badio in the right spot in a critical moment of the game.
"We made some mistakes, like turning the ball over and leaving the weak side open, but there wasn't one key turning point in the game. This qualification campaign will go until the last game in February. We know we can beat Senegal," said an adamant Pep Claros, Angola's coach.
FIBA