Six Africa Zone 7 teams battling for place in FIBA Africa Champions Cup 2016

ANTSIRANANA (FIBA Africa Champions Cup 2016) - Six teams from the Africa Zone 7 on Monday officially opened a race in Antsiranana, Madagascar to earn a place in next month's FIBA Africa Champions Cup (ACC) 2016 in Cairo, Egypt.

The qualifier will run until Sunday 13 November.

In the first game of Group B, Issa Soufou ignited Vautour Club Labattoir of Mayotte Islands to an 81-49 triumph over Ushindzi of Comoros Islands.

Soufou, who finished with game-highs 16 points and 9 rebounds off the bench, was backed by teammate Attoumani Imrane who added 15 points.

Meanwhile, Malagasy side ASCUT Atsinanana needed five minutes of overtime to see off local rivals GNBC 90-78 in the Group A opener.

Even though Solonirina Ndrato Ramorasata was an all-around man thanks to his game-best 26 points, that wasn’t good enough to spark the GNBC’s offense.

ASCUT’s Lalason Ratsimbazafy led his team in scoring with 23 points, and Evrard Fataka was huge at both ends of the floor as he propelled his team with 14 points and 15 rebounds.

ASCUT are chasing their second straight ACC appearance after finishing last in the 2015 edition held in Luanda, Angola.  

The competition resumes on Wednesday with Comoro Islands side Ushindzi taking on St. Pierre of Reunion Islands in Group B action while GNBC will try to bounce back facing TCO of Mayotte Island in Group A.

FIBA