TUN - Look who's playing for gold!

ANTANANARIVO (Afrobasket) - It's been a very long time - 46 years to be exact - since Tunisia have played a game for the African title.

That drought is coming to an end after Adel Tlatli's side scraped a 60-57 triumph over Ivory Coast on Saturday in the first Semi-Final of Afrobasket 2011.

To capture a gold medal would make the Tunisian players heroes in their country for the rest of their lives, but it would also give them the opportunity to do something no basketball team from their country has ever done.

"This victory opens the door for the Olympics for us," jubilant Tunisian point guard Marouan Kiechrid said to FIBA.com.

At bare minimum, Tunisia know they will leave the Afrobasket with a silver medal and an invitation to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament next year. 

"But we want to win the tournament tomorrow," Kiechrid said.

Tunisia's players will never forget Saturday, and that's especially true for Amine Rzig.

The veteran endured a very disappointing FIBA World Championship last year, an event Tunisia qualified for after capturing bronze at Afrobasket 2009 in Libya.

On Saturday, with the game hanging in the balance, Rzig hit a go-ahead three-pointer just 1:14 from the end.

Ivory Coast had a chance to pull level, but Mouloukou Diabate split a pair of free-throws.

The Ivorians then had a costly turnover, with Salah Mejri reaching in and stealing the ball from the dribbling Diabate with only 18 seconds to play.

Diabate fouled Mejri, and he made both free-throws for a three-point lead.

Mejri then came up with another steal right at the end, taking the ball away from Guy Edi, to seal victory for Tunisia.

Tunisia dreamed of being in the position they now find themselves in. In 1965, the Tunisians hosted the Afrobasket and finished runners-up to Morocco.

"This qualification was really important for us," Kiechrid said.

"At the last Afrobasket, we lost in the Semi-Final against Angola so we absolutely wanted to get to the final this time.

"We proved that we also play defense, and that we are not only an offensive team.

"This is a great reward for a group which made some huge sacrifices in the last two and a half months of preparation."

Macram Ben Romdhane, Tunisia's outstanding player in Madagascar, had another huge performance for his team.

He had 15 points and 10 rebounds while Mejri scored 14 and corralled 12 boards.

FIBA