TUN - Sensational Salah

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA (Afrobasket/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Salah Mejri of Tunisia has been moving from strength to strength ever since his appearance at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey.

He travelled to Madagascar in the summer of 2011 and earned the honor as Afrobasket MVP after leading his country to their first gold medal in the competition.

The title qualified Tunisia for the Olympics for the first time, too.

Mejri had an unrivalled ferocity on defense, finishing as the leading shot-blocker with an average of 2.4 per game.

The 2.17m center followed up that effort with a strong season in Belgium with Antwerp and then spent much of this summer in the United States auditioning for NBA clubs.

He then linked up with his national team again and made his Olympic bow.

At the London Games, Mejri showed his defensive performance at Afrobasket 2011 to be no fluke because he topped the shot-blocking charts with 3.4 per contest.

Mejri also showed more polish on offense, averaging 10.4 points and 10 rebounds.

The 26-year-old has wasted no time in causing a stir in Spain's Liga Endesa.

On Sunday, he had a dominating performance for Blusens Monbus.

In just his second game with the club, the Olympian had 20 points and eight rebounds as the Santiago de Compostela-based outfit beat Mad-Croc Fuenlabrada, 79-71, in Madrid.

Mejri was so confident that he stepped outside and drilled a three-pointer for his new team.

He finished nine of 13 from the floor and also had a game-high valuation of 26 as Blusens Monbus improved to 2-0 on the season.

Mejri's performance earned him a spot in the ideal quintet for Week 2 in the Liga Endesa.

Tunisia will be hoping that Mejri continues to excel and will again lead the club to the podium when they compete at next year's Afrobasket.

His performance could pave the way for some of his compatriots to get an opportunity in top European leagues, too.

FIBA