RABAT (Morocco) - There are few teams left with a perfect record in the 2025 AfroBasket qualifiers and Senegal are one of the most dominant teams in the competition.
On Saturday, Senegal crushed Gabon 102-68, a win that couldn't have come at a better time as they prepare to take on Cameroon in the final game of the qualifiers on Sunday.
It was a one-sided affair for the majority of the game, and for all Gabon's attempts to contest a few shots and produce a few eye-catching plays, Mamadou Gueye's men reminded everyone why they are a team to watch.
Ousmane Ndiaye inspired the Senegalese with his 21 points and 15 rebounds, Brancou Badio added 17 points while dishing out 5 assists and Bamba Diallo contributed 19 points off the bench.
Gabon dropped their fifth game in a row.
Former Miami Heat Chris Silva recorded his second double-double of the tournament with 28 points and 12 rebounds, but Gabon will have to wait until the final day of qualifying to find out if they can secure the final Group C ticket to the 2025 AfroBasket.
TURNING POINT: Gabon came into the game looking to cause a major upset in the qualifiers, and for a while it looked like they might do so as they took an early 7-4 lead.
But a Brancou Badio three-pointer gave Senegal a 9-7 lead and the game was never the same again for Gabon, who trailed by as many as 36 points in the fourth quarter.
HERO: Twenty-year-old Ousmane Ndiaye turned in his best performance for the Senegal senior side, leading all players in two key categories.
His game-highs of 21 points and 15 rebounds in just 23:46 minutes were the highest efficiency rates of any player in Window 3 of the qualifiers so far.
Ndiaye was joined on the game-changing list by Bamba Diallo, who came off the bench to score 15 of his 19 points from behind the arc.
STATS DON'T LIE: As well as outplaying Gabon for the majority of the 40 minutes, Senegal won the game on the back of an extraordinary three-point shooting display. Senegal's 19 three-pointers from 44 attempts are the most by any team in the history of the qualifiers.
Gabon's Achilles heel, however, was their handling of the ball, as they turned it over 22 times, resulting in 27 Senegalese points
BOTTOM LINE: It was a one-sided affair that allowed Senegal to field a full complement of twelve players ahead of a crucial clash with Cameroon that will decide the winner of Group C.
WHAT THEY SAID: "They gave us some problems early in the game, but we figured out that their game was all about one player and we found a way out. There are some aspects of the game that we need to improve.." - Senegal forward Ousmane Ndiaye.
FIBA