Window 4 of the African Qualifiers: Group F preview

MONASTIR (Tunisia) -Everything remains up for grabs in Group F of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers as Window 4 sees the start of the Second Round and some majorly important games.

Group F is composed of three teams from First Round Groups B and D and the six teams will convene in the northern coastal Tunisian city Monastir for three games each. The remaining African Qualifiers games will be played from February 24-26, 2023.

Here's what the standings look like in Group F heading into Window 4 of the African Qualifiers:

Group F

0/18 games played

All First Round results carry over to Second Round

		GAMES				STREAK	GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	Last 5	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	South Sudan	6	6	0	100		429	368	61	71.5	61.3	12
2	Egypt	6	5	1	83.3		452	311	141	75.3	51.8	11
3	Tunisia	6	4	2	66.7		386	369	17	64.3	61.5	10
4	Congo DR	6	4	2	66.7		323	315	8	53.8	52.5	10
5	Senegal	6	3	3	50.0		421	376	45	70.2	62.7	9
6	Cameroon	6	1	5	16.7		338	365	-27	56.3	60.8	7

Friday, August 26

Congo DR vs Cameroon - 16:30 local time
Egypt vs Tunisia - 19:30 local time
Senegal vs South Sudan- 22:30 local time

Saturday, August 27

Cameroon vs Egypt - 16:30 local time
Tunisia vs Senegal - 19:30 local time
South Sudan vs Congo DR - 22:30 local time

Sunday, August 28

Senegal vs Cameroon - 16:30 local time
Congo DR vs Tunisia - 19:30  local time
Egypt vs South Sudan - 22:30 local time

The world's youngest basketball member South Sudan come to Tunisia hoping nobody wakes them up after a fairytale First Round campaign in which they won all six games for a perfect 6-0 record going into Group F play. South Sudan can actually book their ticket to the FIBA World Cup 2023 with three wins in Monastir and other results, but also know that Senegal, Congo DR and Egypt will give their all to bring South Sudan back down to earth.

Egypt have to like their standing at 5-1 but things will not be easy for the Pharaohs either, taking on Tunisia, a desperate Cameroon and South Sudan. Still, Egypt could also lock up a spot at next summer's big show with the right results - and help forget missing out on China 2019.

Speaking of Tunisia, the 4-2 The Eagles of Carthage have been a real force when playing at home - their last defeat on home soil coming at the FIBA AfroBasket 2015 Semi-Finals, a stretch of 15 games including six in the FIBA World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers. Will that streak come to an end?

Also at 4-2 are Congo DR, who do have two losses against Egypt but two victories over Senegal if a tiebreaker comes later. The Leopards will have a new head coach and Emmanuel Mavomo would love to see his team grab three wins.

Senegal also have a new play-caller in former international DeSagana Diop and the 3-3 team will be boosted by the returns of Brancou Badio, Khalifa Diop and Amar Sylla.

Things might be too late already for Cameroon, who are 1-5 in the group and desperately need three wins in Tunisia to stay alive.

Star to watch

Salah Mejri - Tunisia

Center
Height: 217cm / 7'1"
June/July stats: 12.3 PTS, 9.3 REB, 1.3 STL, 3.3 BLK 66.7% 2PTFG in 33.3 minutes per game

The veteran 7-footer helped Tunisia to a 2-1 record in Window 3 earlier this summer, averaging nearly a double-double as well as more than 3 blocks per game. The 36-year-old did however miss all 11 of his three-point attempts in those three games. Tunisia will have three important games and Mejri's experience will be very needed for the home team.

Top prospect

Jonathan Kuminga - DR Congo

Guard/Small Fforward
Height: 202cm / 6'8"
June/July stats: Did Not Play

Kuminga will be a major asset for DR Congo as the wing not only provides great energy and scoring ability as a 19-year-old but he also comes to Tunisia coming off winning the 2022 NBA title with the Golden State Warriors in his rookie season. That winning experience will be massively important. Kuminga will also be on a mission to take the next step in becoming a national hero - playing in the African Qualifiers alongside his brother Joel Ntambwe, who played last season in the NBA G-League.

Here's where Group F teams are ranked in the FIBA World Rankings, as well as in Africa:

FIBA