TRIPOLI (Libya) - Mokhtar Ghyaza's clutch shot sent Tunisia over the line in a tense encounter with Guinea, giving them a 64-63.
It was Tunisia's fifth win in as many games in the 2025 AfroBasket Qualifiers.
Ousmane Drame's free throw gave Guinea the lead with 1:19 to play, while Ousmane Kaba and Oussama Marnaoui missed chances to win the game for either side.
Ghyaza's shot deep into stoppage time denied Guinea what would have been a second successive win.
"It was a very physical game. We didn't start well, but we made up for it in the second half, especially with our turnovers, and made a comeback. Guinea are a good side and after beating Angola yesterday, we knew they would be tough. We just didn't get off to a good start," Marnaoui told FIBA.nasketball.
There was little to separate the two teams statistically, but Tunisia's bench stood out, contributing 40 points to 23. The North Africans doubled their contribution from second chance points (14-7). Guinea played a huge second quarter, outscoring their opponents 25-10 to take a 39-30 lead into the break.
A 12-point deficit going into the final stanza did not deter Tunisia, who clawed their way back to a 60-59 lead after Ben Romdhane hit back-to-back jumpers with about four minutes on the clock.
Gakou, Dundao break Kenya in dominant display for Angola
Childe Dundao scored 25 points in just over 29 minutes and Abou Gakou added a similar tally in 30:41 as Angola came from behind to beat Kenya 88-59.
Angola were coming off a shock 66-65 loss to Guinea on Friday 21 February, while Kenya arrived in Tripoli just hours after losing a game to defending champions Tunisia, which technically knocked them out of the competition.
The East Africans, who were hoping to return to the continental showpiece, had lost by 30 points to record champions Angola in February 2024. In the previous edition of AfroBasket, Kenya had qualified for the first time in over 28 years by beating Angola by one point.
Cliff Owuor's Kenya led 25-21 at the break before Anibal Moreira's men turned the game on its head by outscoring Angola 29-10 in the second quarter. Kenya's hopes were dashed in the final stanza as the West African giants outscored them 23-9 to run out comfortable winners. This is a big win for us. We struggled a lot to get into the game but in the end we did a good job. The team was ready to do the job and we did it. We expected Kenya to be a tough opponent but we were solid in defence," said Angola centre Joao Fernandes.
"We had a good start but the turnovers in the second half made the game uncomfortable. Angola came out hard in the second quarter and we were not prepared for that. Fatigue also set in and they made easy plays," said Kenya forward Fidel Okoth.
Kenya turned the ball over 30 times and were punished for it as Angola outscored them 38-13, dominated the paint 44-18 and scored 23-5 in fast break points.
"We didn't have a bad game but our decision-making was clearly affected by the lack of rest," said Kenya head coach Cliff Owuor. FIBA