Cameroon remain on the Road to Paris 2024 after claiming OQT ticket in Lagos

LAGOS (Nigeria) - Cameroon have made history by winning their first Continental level competition after beating Senegal 80-74 in the Final of the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Lagos, Nigeria.

The win means Cameroon are headed to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments to be held early next year for a chance to qualify for the 2024 Games in Paris.

The Indomitable Lions closed their campaign with a perfect 4-0 while Senegal, who were the highest-ranked team in Africa still standing after the early exit of Nigeria and Tunisia, saw their Olympic dream end in the most devastating way.

It was a game that could have gone either way, but having fewer turnovers than Senegal proved history-making for Cameroon.

Turning point: Senegal stepped onto the floor fully aware of Cameroon's combative spirit and they made sure to embark on an eight-point run early in the opening quarter. But Cameroon never panicked, and, in a turn of events Fabien Ateba hit a three-pointer that tied the contest at the end of the first quarter at 25-25. Cameroon would never trail again.

Subsequently, Cameroon used a strong second quarter, outscoring Senegal 22-8 and headed to the locker room with a comfortable 47-33 lead, before they reached a 16-point advantage in the third quarter.

Somehow, Senegal closed the gap to just three points with less than 15 seconds left, but a technical foul on Moustapha Diop allowed Cameroon to close out the game.

Player of the Game: Samir Gbetkom may have led Cameroon with a game-high 19 points off the bench, but Jeremiah Hill's impact was out of this world as he finished with 11 points while dishing out a record 14 assists for Cameroon.

Stats Don't Lie: In a game where both teams showed more similarities than differences, small details were always likely to play a part. Senegal's 18 turnovers compared to Cameroon's 10 turned out to be the defining aspect of the game.

Bottom line: Cameroon were braver, smarter and played with the purpose and desire to return to the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) for the first time since 2008. Senegal were chasing their third straight appearance in the OQT as they competed in 2016 and 2020, but will now have to focus on the FIBA AfroBasket Qualifiers.

Both Cameroon and Senegal reached the Final as the highest scoring teams, but in the end, Cameroon finished as the best team in tournament and surpassed their previous best second-place at the 2007 FIBA AfroBasket in Angola.

FIBA