Guinea stun powerhouse Egypt for first AfroBasket win in 36 years

 

KIGALI (Rwanda) - Guinea on Saturday provided one of the biggest surprises in the history of AfroBasket when they  stunned five-time Africa champion, Egypt by 86-78  at Kigali Arena.

With the win, the much-lowered ranked Guinea not only registered their first win in 36 years in the history of the tournament, but they have also moved closer to reaching the qualification round for the AfroBasket 2021 Quarter-Finals with a 1-2 mark.

Egypt, on the other hand, dropped to 1-2.

Guinea had last won a FIBA AfroBasket game when they beat Kenya 80-68 in the 1985 edition of the tournament in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.

Spurred on by captain Cedric Mansare, who led the floor with 25 points, three rebounds and four assists with an efficiency of 28, made things difficult for the Egyptian side as they raced to a 13-point lead at the end of the first quarter (28-15), though the North Africa strong side won the last two quarters (21-17, 22-21) but it was not enough to stop the ambitious Guinean side whose qualification to the knock-out stage hang on the outcome of the game between Tunisia and Central Africa Republic later on.

Cedric Mansare (Guinea)

Guinea head coach Zeljko Zecevic, in an emotional ladened voice, told FIBA.basketball that he is proud of his players who executed the technical crew game plans very well.

"It looks like a dream to me that we could defeat a strong side as Egypt and not until the buzzer signal the end of the game that I realized that we have won and a golden chance to be heading towards the knock-out stage of the competition.

"I must commend my players for a job well and for sticking with our game plan, also the federation for all the support they have given to the team, I am therefore dedicating this sweet victory to both the players and the federation."

Guinea captain Mansare could not hide his joy for the win but says it's about the team work and declared that they are now more poised to go further should opportunity beckon.

"I want to salute my teammates and the coaching crew for a job well-done as you can observe that victory is sweet and we hope to continue with a winning mentality," Mansare said.

Guard and former U18 top performer for Guinea, Mehdi Lesbarreres, who contributed two points, five rebounds and four assists, believed they were more focused and determined to further bearing the outcome of the Tunisia versus Central Africa game.

Mehdi Lesbarreres is seen in action during the FIBA U18 African Championship 2021 in Cairo

"We want to make a loud statement that we can compete among basketball great in Africa despite the two losses to Tunisia and Central Africa Republic. The win over a strong side as Egypt is more than making a statement but a morale booster to our Guinea."

FIBA