LUANDA - MOÇÂMEDES (Angola) - There have been many jaw-dropping moments in the first 16 games of the 2025 AfroBasket, which are taking place in the Angolan cities of Luanda and Moçâmedes. There are still 20 more games to go.
FIBA.basketball highlights notable facts that have occurred since the tournament began on August 12.
TWO ACTIVE NBA PLAYERS AT THE 2025 AFROBASKET
Josh Okogie of the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans player Yves Missi decided to wear the respective jerseys of their countries at this year's AfroBasket.
Both players, Okogie (Nigeria) and Missi (Cameroon), are making their tournament debuts in Angola. While Missi is representing Cameroon for the first time, Okogie has already worn the colours of the D'Tigers in the FIBA competition (FIBA 2023 Basketball World Cup Qualifiers and 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup).
Okogie played a starring role for the Tigers, scoring 33 points in a Group B 87-66 win over defending champions Tunisia on Friday. Missi, who sat out the nail-biting victory against Madagascar, played in Cameroon's opening Group B win against Tunisia, and he scored 12 points.
FIRST GAME OF THE TOURNAMENT WON AT THE BUZZER
Friday's Group A match in Moçâmedes saw Jean Philipe Dally of Cote d'Ivoire score a last-gasp layup for the Elephants to secure a crucial 82-81 victory over Cape Verde on Friday.
Dally scored 16 points in the win over the Blue Sharks.
DEFENDING CHAMPIONS TUNISIA ARE ON SHAKY GROUND
Apart from losing to Nigeria on Friday, three-time AfroBasket champions Tunisia saw their decade-long unbeaten run come to an end when they lost their opening group game against Cameroon.
Tunisia last lost an AfroBasket match in the 2015 edition.
GUINEA SHOCKED AFRICA'S NO.1 TEAM
Guinea, ranked 75th in the world and 11th in Africa, delivered the game of their lives in the AfroBasket Group C opener, stunning top-ranked South Sudan, the continent's No. 1 team and 23rd in the FIBA world rankings.
Guinea beat the Bright Stars 88-80.
SOUTH SUDAN BOUNCE BACK WITH RECORD WIN
Following their opening day loss against Guinea, the Luol Deng-coached South Sudan came back inspired and demolished Libya by a 63-point margin in their second Group C game.
South Sudan is the tournament's leading scorer with 115 points.
KANOUTE'S INTERESTING DOUBLE-DOUBLE
In Mali's victory against Uganda in Group D, Siriman Kanoute delivered 10 assists, but also turned the ball over 10 times in the game.
GOMES THE ELDER STATESMAN
Cape Verdean player Betinho Gomes is the oldest player at the FIBA AfroBasket. The Benfica player turned 40 in February.
In his tournament debut, Gomes scored 13 points in the 75-66 win over the Democratic Republic of Congo.
YOUNGEST PLAYERS AT THE 2025 AFROBASKET
Betinho Gomes and Joel Almeida were both born in 1985. Three other players were born after the 2007 AfroBasket, which took place in Angola in August of that year.
Mervedi Miteo (DR Congo) played like a veteran in his first two games despite his young age. Miteo is the youngest player at this year's AfroBasket; he was born on December 16, 2008, making him 16 years old.
Another 16-year-old is Gassim Toure of Guinea, born on October 23, 2008.
Amadou Seini of Cameroon (born January 2007) and Tejan Rugete of Uganda (born October 2007).
TAVARES' TIES REBOUNDING RECORD
In his AfroBasket 2025 debut, seven-footer Edy Tavares equaled the tournament rebounding record set by Egypt’s Assem Marei in 2013.
Against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Real Madrid center grabbed 19 rebounds, helping the Cape Verdeans secure a 75-66 victory.
DIALLO IS THE ALPHA SCORER AT AFROBASKET
After two rounds of games, Guinea's Alpha Diallo leads the tournament in scoring with 26 points per game.
The EuroLeague star Diallo scored 28 points in the victory over South Sudan and 24 points in the loss to Angola.
SINGLE DIGITS WINS
Of the 16 matches played so far, six were decided by single-digit margins, including an 82–81 Côte d'Ivoire win over Cape Verde. At this point, no game has gone into overtime.
TEN TEAMS WITH OPPOSING RESULTS
It's still early to predict the outcome of the 2025 AfroBasket, but as we approach the halfway mark of the tournament ten teams live different realities.
Five teams - Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, Angola and Côte d'Ivoire - remain undefeated after playing two games each.
On the other hand, five teams - Uganda, Libya, Tunisia, Madagascar, Rwanda - remain winless after playing two games each.
CROWDS
There hasn't been a game in Moçâmedes where local and traveling fans haven't shown up in huge numbers.
When the hosts, Angola, take to the floor, packed houses are almost guaranteed. This was the case in Luanda, where Angola played their opening game at the Kilamba Arena before travelling to Moçâmedes.
The 3,100-capacity Pavilhão Welwitschia Mirabilis has usually reached full capacity in Moçâmedes.
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