PRETORIA (South Africa)- It is down to the best four U18 Women's teams with the ongoing U18 Women's AfroBasket set to conclude on Saturday 14 September in Pretoria, South Africa.
The Quarter Finals matches played on Wednesday 11 September produced a day of close encounters, open matches and upsets. Here's how the action unfolded:
Mali dominate Rwanda to keep title hopes alive
Diakite Sory's Mali lived up to expectations, going past Rwanda with an 86-57 outcome in the first Quarter Finals match of the day.
Mama Sidiki Doumbia carried the day for the 8-time champions, posting a 21 points, 22 rebounds double-double as Oumou Dabo added a double-double of her own with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
An early 19-11 lead in the opening quarter gave Mali an 8-point cushion and they pulled away further with a 25-15 show in the second period, leaving the East Africans with a herculean task in the second half.
The Brigitte Nibishaka (19) powered Rwanda attempted a comeback in the third period, coming to within a point of Mali in a 21-20. A 21-11 lead for Mali in the final quarter sealed Rwanda's fate as they are now relegated to the Classification Round matches.
Uganda stop Tunisia on their tracks for semis slot
Resty Nanangwe seemingly never has an off day on the court, and the teenage sensation was on again, top scoring with 27 as Uganda beat Tunisia 69-53 to advance.
John Omondi's side raced to a 13-1 lead, setting the pace early to put the North Africans in chase-mode. The Wissem Chrayet's charges did well to fight back but were still trailing 20-15 at the conclusion of the opening 10 minutes.
Tunisia had a better second quarter, outscoring Uganda 13-12 to cut their deficit to just 4 going to the second half.
As the second half resumed, Tunisia continue to fight, Malak Chehidi's trey bringing them to within at basket at 36-35 before Rim Arbi gave them the lead from the free-throw line. They extended their lead to 45-38 but Uganda fought to level the score at 45 and lead by the slightest of margins at 47-46. A 22-7 shoe for Uganda sealed the victory.
Cameroon stun Angola to continue fairy tale run
Debutants Cameroon are through to the Last Four after a hard-fought 65-63 show against reigning bronze medalists Angola in the Quarters.
Little separated the two sides statistically going into the clash that surely lived up to its biling.
Angola got the scoring underway, taking a 4-0 lead before Yolande Masndi and Adrianne Abada brought the Central Africans right on top at 5-4, an early indication of the see-saw nature of the clash.
Angola led 9-7 halfway through the quarter, Cameroon fighting to reclaim lead at 11-10 from Abada's jump shot. Damaris Emedie partnered Abada upfront to pull Cameroon away 15-10 and further at 20-14 as they won the period 22-14.
After that final buzzer it was unfathomable what we had just achieved on our debut." - Damaris Emedie
Ange Majolie Lonteu's side found themselves in trouble in the second quarter as Ana Servico, Luisa Amaral and Franciany Cavula mounted a comeback with a 19-09 show to lead 33-31 heading to the half-time break.
The debutants held a two-point advantage at the end of an entertaining third quarter that ended 19-15 in their favour. Suzy Nyeck drew Cameroon level at 33 but they still played catch-up only assuming lead at 40-39 with 5:08 to play in the third.
A dramatic final 10 minutes were a joy for the neutral fans but a nightmare for either side as none could just pull away, the clash being decided on the buzzer as Ketcha Nganga missed an uncontested floater that would have sent the match to over time. Abada, drove past the Angolan defense for a layup that proved to be the winning shot for the debutants.
It was a game of fine margins with Angola who led in steals with 15 against 6 and turned the ball over 21 times, nine less than the opponent, failed to capitalise on this getting 18 points off turnovers while Cameroon scored 22.
Damaris Emedie dropped her fourth double-double in as many matches, leading Cameroon with 15 points and 19 rebounds as Kelya Kipo who had a frustrating night offensively, added 12 points and 8 rebounds to the win.
"We are overjoyed to have a competitive match like this go in our favour in the very last seconds. It was a complicated match but we did our best to remain calm. After that final buzzer it was unfathomable what we had just achieved on our debut," an elated Emedie said.
Angola's charge was led by Servico with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Nigeria exact revenge on Egypt to advance
Against a formidable side in Egypt, Nigeria, who qualified for the Last Eight as one of the two best third-place finishers from the Group Phase, stunned the reigning silver medalists for a 66-51 victory to reach the Semis.
Nigeria were perfect from the start, led by Abigail Isaac who top scored for the side witha double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds. Idubamo who dropped 13 was crucial for her side as she gave 7 assists, as did Wandoo Marvis.
Nigeria led 6-1 and again at 11-03, a start that spelled doom for Moustafa Atef Hadhood's Egypt eho struggled from then on. A first quarter score of 24-13 was far from what was expected from the silver medalists against a side that qualified as one of the two best third-placed finishers.
Juliana Ojoshogu Negedu's charges kept pulling away in the second quarter, making it a 13-point game half way through the quarter at 32-19. The North Africans tried to keep things close with a 13-10 quarter but the first quarter damage was proving a nightmare to repair.
Doyinsola Lijirin got action going in the second half with a layup 26 seconds in for Nigeria clearly not how Egypt would have wanted to begin the period. Beggi and Momoluwa Ayomide Tewogbade (13) knocked down three-pointers each, Haya Alhalawany pulling one back for 46-30.
A 17-13 outcome in the third saw the Nigerians carry a the massive advantage to the final quarter. Despite fighting to take the final quarter 15-12, it was too little too late for the Pharaohs to turn the match around for victory.
"I feel excited and grateful that we have made it this far. After the team acclimatised, they were back to themselves," an elated coach Ojoshogu who explained how their scouting plan worked perfectly, as they managed to stop Egypt's top scorers.
Hosts' first win
In the Classification Round games (9-12), hosts South Africa beat Zambia 46-43, while Morocco trounced Zimbabwe 93-38.
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