DAKAR (Senegal) - Known for their exceptional talent five players grabbed the limelight on the opening day of Groups A and C of the AfroBasket 2025 Qualifiers.
They did a bit of everything to help their countries claim victories on Friday.
In this article, FIBA.basketball tells you how Brancou Badio, Claude Lutete, Nuni Omot, Jordan Sakho and Youssou Ndoye emerged as the top performers of Game-day 1 at Dakar Arena in the Senegalese capital.
BRANCOU BADIO
Point Guard DOB: February 17, 1999 Height: 1.91m (6'3") Club: Valencia Basket Nationality: Senegalese
Badio brought his skillset repertoire to the fore, leading Senegal in their 81-58 demolition over Gabon in front of a rowdy home crowd.
Besides leading Senegal's offense with mastery, the playmaker created shooting opportunities for teammates, and he also put his body on the line, grabbing 7 rebounds.
Although Rwanda caused all sorts of trouble to Senegal in the opening quarter, Badio's take over just before halftime put the contest to rest.
CLAUDE LUTETE IV
Shooting Guard DOB: October 9, 1996 Height: 1.96m (6'5") Club: KK Bosna Royal Nationality: Congolese
A thorough look into the game between Mali and DR Congo shows how evenly-matched the first twenty minutes were as the 29-26 score showed at the break.
At that point of the game, Lutete had a 3-for-5 shooting and 6 points, but he kept his best for last.
Lutete came up with a complete domination in the second half, scoring 14 points while leaving Mali's defense clueless.
NUNI OMOT
Small Forward DOB: October 3, 1994 Height: 2.05m (6'8") Club: Beijing Bucks Basketball Club Nationality: South Sudanese
Big players often show up when it matters most, and Omot showed just that.
After picking his third foul in the second quarter and being benched until early the third quarter, Omot felt South Sudan needed to neutralise a combative Morocco team one way or another. And South Sudan's 36-34 halftime indicated how Omot and Co desperately needed to turn things around.
Omot capitalised from every second he spent on the floor, adding 14 points to his first half's 6 to inspire South Sudan to their first win in the in the 2025 AfroBasket Qualifiers.
JORDAN SAKHO
Power Forward DOB: April 4, 1997 Height: 2.09m (6'10") Club: Rio Breogan Nationality: Congolese
When DR Congo needed Sakho most, he delivered a dominant performance late in their 72-64 triumph over Mali. How did he do that? He stepped up his physical game in the paint, a move that saw him improve from 7 points and 3 rebounds in the first half to powering DR Congo's first win in the AfroBasket Qualifiers with 16 points, 9 rebounds in 31:30 minutes on the floor.
YOUSSOU NDOYE
Power Center DOB: July 15, 1991 Height: 2.12m (6'11") Club: Taipei Taishin Mars Nationality: Senegalese
Ndoye scored his first six points with three thunderous dunks, sending a message out of how prepared he was to dominate Rwanda's painted area, and he did just that. Ndoye was the mountainous presence that Senegal needed to terrorise Rwanda's offense.
Honourable Mention
Another star player of Game-day 1 was South Sudan guard Jackson Makoi who had a 4-for-4 shooting to finish with 10 points and 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.
FIBA