Mendonca sparks Cape Verde into Quarter-Finals, Tunisia stay perfect

KIGALI (Rwanda) - Cape Verde and Tunisia became the first teams to advance to the Quarter-Finals of the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 after winning Groups A and B on Saturday.

Fidel Mendonca sparked Cape Verde to a 82-74 win over Rwanda after sinking five straight three-pointers in the opening quarter of the game.

The Islanders' win not only allowed them to win Group A with a 2-1 record, but they also advanced to the Quarter-Finals for the second time since 2007. 

"IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER WHO WE ARE GOING TO FACE IN THE QUARTER-FINALS. RIGHT NOW, OUR FOCUS IS TO REGROUP, SCOUT OUR OPPONENTS AND GET READY THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE."- Walter Tavares

Rwanda's Dieudonne Ndayisaba Ndizeye opened the score sheet with a three-pointer, but Mendonca didn't take long to respond with 5-of-6 three-pointers, giving Cape Verde a 29-15 lead at the end of the opening quarter.

The visitors entered the final quarter with a commanding 25-point lead (68-43), but Rwanda supporters inside the Kigali Arena, who have been tireless throughout the tournament, made their time worth it, chanting, dancing, and encouraging their heroes to compete.

Rwanda made sure not to let their fans down, cutting the deficit to just to just four points (71-67) with 3:54 minutes left.

Jean Jacques Nshobozwabyosenumukiza led the Rwanda's resurgence with 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals, however, Mendonca's five three-pointer early in the game damaged the hosts' chances to win their group.

In a game that Rwanda's prolific scorer Kenneth Gasana struggled with his shooting, finishing only 2-of-10 from the field to go with six points, Emile Galois Kazeneza and Alex Mpoyo led Rwanda in scoring with 18 and 13 points each.

Emanuel Trovoada, the man who guided Cape Verde to the Third-Place at AfroBasket 2007, recalled that there is a long way to reach the podium of AfroBasket again.

Walter Tavares has been fundamental for Cape Verde throughout the AfroBasket 2021

"We have faced several barriers to be able to participate in this tournament; We we faced difficulties preparing the team, but our self-belief, determination to do better each and every day has helped us to be in the position we are now," Trovoada said.

He continued: "We arrived in Kigali as underdogs in our group, but we ended up winning the group. I have told my players if they wanted to be successful they would need to beat the home team, who invested heavily to win the trophy. We are confident, but we are treating one game at a time. I am sure other teams will look at us differently now."

Walter Tavares finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds - his second double-double in the tournament. The 2.23m (7ft 3in) center admitted that "Rwanda is a really good team, they gave us some hard time.

"We are really happy to have qualified for the Quarter-Finals. I want to thank everyone who made our trip to Rwanda possible."

Asked about the importance of winning Group A, the Real Madrid player said: "In a tournament like this, rest is really important, and the whole team is glad that we are going to have three days rest. It doesn't really matter who we are going face in the Quarter-Finals. Right now, our focus is to regroup, scout our opponents and get prepared the best way possible."

Fidel Mendonca (Cape Verde)

By finishing second in their group, Rwanda will face Guinea who finishes third in Group B in a qualification round for a place in the Quarter-Finals.

Meanwhile, in the first game of Group A, former African champions Angola resurged from the ashes after beating the Democratic Republic of Congo 73-58 to finish third in the group. The Congolese finished fourth, and as a result, were eliminated.

In the last game of the day, reigning African champions Tunisia outclassed the Central African Republic (CAF) 68-51 to win their group with a 3-0 mark.

With the win, Tunisia join Cape Verde in the Quarter-Finals. They will be joined by the winners of Group C and D.

CAF and DR Congo became the first two teams eliminated from the FIBA AfroBasket 2021.

FIBA