PRETORIA (South Africa) - Cameroon's magical in the FIBA U18 AfroBasket run will continue to the final after steamrolling past Morocco 67-47 at the University of Pretoria.
An 18-0 fourth-quarter run by Cameroon ended the contest. Apart from progressing to Saturday's AfroBasket final, Cameroon have also gained automatic qualification for the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Lausanne, Switzerland.
You always see different sporting disciplines achieving success - now it's basketball's turn. We are happy and the whole nation is happy." - Cameroon coach Kevin Ngwesse.
Giant centre Amedu Seini's double-double (15 points and 19 rebounds), Herman Bel's 15 points and 15 rebounds and 13 points from Freddy Tchakounte set Cameroon on their historic achievement.
Noah Baze's reverse layup and an Omar Karem jump-shot started proceedings. Morocco had looked like they had adjusted well to the physicality of Cameroon.
With three minutes played, two Rayane Solhi's three-pointers and a Karem bucket gave the Moroccans a 16-10 lead, but Cameroon cut it to three through an Ulrich Ngono bucket and a Bel free throw.
Solhi found his range with another triple, which gave Morocco a 24-20 lead - the guard also led the game with 11 points. Midway through the third, Seini's free throws and a bucket, a Yves Minlend layup, and a Tchakounte three gave Cameroon an 8-0 run and a 30-26 lead.
"It's history for our country. You always see different sporting disciplines achieving success - now it's basketball's turn. We are happy and the whole nation is happy," said ecstatic Cameroon coach Kevin Ngwesse. "Our focus is on the final. We came here to win the cup. I have told my guys to go and rest and watch the game online."
Cameroon went into the half-time break 32-29 up. Second chance points (11-6), points in the paint (16-12) and points from the bench (7-3) also gave Cameroonians the edge over Morocco.
Tchakounte's three-pointer and Gregory Kemet's layup extended the Central African nation's lead (41-29) with five minutes played in the third quarter. Morocco cut the lead to six with a Karem three, and Mohammed Bahmad and Rayane Moukrim buckets made it 46-40.
Dan Ejenguele's (2), Bel's floater in the paint and Seini's put-back layup set Cameroon on a 6-0 run three minutes into the fourth quarter for the 54-42 lead. The run would extend to five as Cameroon roared to a 20-point victory.
"The third and fourth quarters are important for us. This is where we break away. That is why our defense is intense so that we can pull away in those quarters," said Ngwesse.
In the Classification Round games (5th-8th), Angola defeated Rwanda 68-56 while outclassed Nigeria 82-63.
FIBA