Top performers on last day of 1st Round of African Qualifiers
The exciting three days of Window 3 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers came to a close on Sunday with some eye-catching individual performances across the three host cities.
ABIDJAN/ALEXANDRIA/KIGALI - The exciting three days of Window 3 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers came to a close on Sunday with some eye-catching individual performances across the three host cities.
A promising talent in Senegal basketball ranks, Jean-Jacques Boissy rose to the occasion on Sunday to help his country get away with a 86-54 triumph over Kenya.
For youngster Boissy, it was all about bounce back from two straight defeats in Group D.
Boissy's 26 efficiency resulted mainly from the way he handled Senegal's offence. As well as dishing out 7 assists, Boissy had 16 points, grabbed 9 rebounds and recorded one block.
Gerson Goncalves had another stellar performance on Sunday when he powered Angola to a second straight win in three games in Abidjan.
For the Petro de Luanda guard everything started on the defensive end where he recorded 2 steals.
Offensively, the 1.96m (6ft 5in) contributed 15 points, had 4 assists and recorded 5 rebounds to sign out with a 17 efficiency.
Highflying South Sudan isn't short of talent, and this was evident on Sunday when they beat Cameroon 67-56 to advance to the Second Round with a perfect 6-0.
One of South Sudan's stars was Nuni Omot, a 2.06m (6ft 9in) small forward with an impressive shooting ability and a terrific versatility.
Omot ignited his team with his 17 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists to finish with a 14 efficiency.
South Sudan advance to the Second Round undefeated in six games.
In Kigali, Rwanda, Sacramento Kings forward Chimezie Metu rose to the occasion, powering Nigeria to a 91-72 victory over Uganda in what was D'Tigers' second straight win over the East Africans in Group A.
Metu inspired Alan Major's team with his energetic performance on both ends of the floor with a 31 efficiency, which technically resulted from his 25 points 10 rebounds and 3 block shots in 35 minutes of action at BR Arena.
It was Metu's second straight double-double.
Still in Kigali, Makram Ben Romdhane led Tunisia's comeback after a disappointing second straight defeat to South Sudan the day before.
The reigning FIBA AfroBasket Most Valuable Player was aggressive defensively, but it was in the offensive end that he impacted the game the most.
Ben Romdhane finished with 14 points, dished out 4 assists, grabbed 4 rebounds and amassed 23 efficiency to help Tunisia overcome hosts Rwanda 76-66.
Get ready for more African Qualifiers action next month when the Second Rounds gets underway.
FIBA