Algeria, Egypt record wins in opening day of FIBA U16 African Championship

CAIRO (Egypt) - Algeria and Egypt made no pretenses about their ambitions in the Opening Day fixtures of the FIBA U16 African Championship 2021, recording wins over Gabon and Cote d'Ivoire, respectively.

In the day's first action, Algeria used a fourth-quarter rally to outscore Gabon 82-63.

Zakariya Khodja turned out to be the shining star of Algeria scoring 28 points, adding three rebounds and nine assists to his account to lead the floor. Mahrz Karabi followed him with 25 points, 18 rebounds and three assists while Zakaria Abdelouahad added 13 points, 13 rebounds and 1 assist to help his team to a comfortable win.

The game which had scores at 15-15 at the end of the first quarter saw both sides sizing each other up but the Riad Chettouh-coached Algeria made some changes that left scores at 30-26 at the end of the second quarter.

At the end of the second half of the game, Algeria and Gabon played even with scores at 14-14, but the last quarter proved that Algeria were the better side as they forced Gabon to commit fouls that left them under pressure.

Algeria had their fun going to the Free-Throw line and making it count.

Gabon’s Darcy Makambo Elyse was equally high on the score sheet with 28 points to his credit but it was not enough to lift his side as Vincent David Pyssame and Lény Camille Simba Aworet both recorded 6 points apiece on the night.

Riad Chettouh admitted that it was a tough encounter for his team but that the fourth quarter made all the difference.

"It was a good game against Gabon. The first three quarters were difficult but it was in the fourth quarter that we changed everything. We stayed together, focused on the task and that is the reason for our victory. It is our wish to reach the Final," he explained at the post-match conference.

Gabon will next play against Mali on Saturday while Algeria faces Cote d’ Ivoire the same day.

In the second game of the day, host Egypt shook off a rampaging Cote d'Ivoire side, winning 89-53 to light up the defense of the title they won back in 2019 when Cape Verde hosted Africa.

Cote d'Ivoire, who is making a return to the championship after finishing 9th place in 2019, showed resilience and a strong determination to upset Egypt with the first-quarter score of 20-18 in their favor.

The Ivorians seemed to lose focus on the second quarter as they trailed 20-15.

By the third quarter, the Cote d'Ivoire side, which had set itself a goal of securing a place at the next FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup, could not find their feet trailing 27-9.

Egypt made it a complete rout in the fourth quarter with a score of 24-9.

Diomande Dominique had a wonderful game scoring 21 points and had 5 assists on the night for Cote d'Ivoire to lead the floor but it was not good enough.

Egypt had Adam Elhalawany to thank for his 15 points, four rebounds and four assists. He was supported on the night by Seifeldin Hendawy with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Egypt face Uganda next while Cote d'Ivoire take on Algeria.

FIBA