ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - Of the 20 national teams competing for a place at AfroBasket 2025 in Angola, four will be eliminated.
And with the final 30 games of the qualifiers just around the corner, we take you back in time to show you where they stand after 3 games each.
Window 3 of the AfroBasket Qualifiers 2025 will take place from 21-23 February in three African cities: Antananarivo (Madagascar), Rabat (Morocco) and Tripoli (Libya).
Some teams are almost guaranteed tickets to Angola, while others will have to reinvent themselves to reach FIBA Africa's flagship event.
Based on the current and recent circumstances of the twenty teams, we rank them from bottom to top.
20. GABON
Winning all three of their Group C games - against high-flying Senegal, Cameroon and Rwanda - is a must for Gabon, and they know it.
Seeking to secure their first AfroBasket ticket since 2015, Gabon have replaced coach Wilfried Cédric Dongo with John Masnoudji and selected a number of foreign-based players - including former Miami Heat forward Cris Silva - as a last-ditch effort.
However, the biggest challenge facing Gabon - even if they win two of their three games - is their -88 point differential, the worst in the entire tournament.
19. CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
A 76-69 loss to Madagascar in the first round of the tournament in Cairo a year ago left the Central Africans in a difficult position, not only because it was their third defeat in three games, but also because they must beat the Malagasy in front of their home fans on the final day of the competition on 23 February.
At this stage, it's fair to say that Madagascar are the Central Africans' main rivals for a place at the 2025 African Championship.
18. NIGERIA
Have we seen Nigeria struggle to qualify for an AfroBasket before? Probably not, but this is the reality facing the D'Tigers, a team that reached the pinnacle of African basketball just three years ago.
Having lost all three of their first-round games against Cape Verde, Uganda and Libya, Nigeria must now focus on winning as many games as possible in these qualifiers to reach Angola.
And a win against hosts Libya - a team they lost to in an overtime in Tunisia in February 2024 - on the opening day on 21 February is a must.
17. MOROCCO
Everyone knows how passionate Moroccan basketball fans are, and the chance to host the second round of Groups A and C is an opportunity for them to reignite their chances of qualifying for their first AfroBasket since finishing fourth in the 2017 edition of Africa's flagship basketball tournament.
Can Moroccan fans make a difference? After all, a November trip to Dakar against South Sudan, DR Congo and Mali proved a challenge, with the team losing all three matches.
16. GUINEA
If there's one team that can never be ruled out of this year's African Championship, it's Guinea.
Remember how they challenged Tunisia and forced them to step up in front of their fans in Monastir in February 2024? That's the kind of team Guinea are.
With Angola already qualified as hosts, it remains to be seen how Group E, which also includes Kenya, will play out.
15. KENYA
Since Kenya's return to the AfroBasket family four years ago - after an absence of almost three decades - the East Africans have continued to prove that they belong, and their win over Guinea on the final day of the first round of Group E was a huge boost.
Although Guinea will be their main rivals in the group, Kenya will need to win as many as games as possible to return to the AfroBasket.
14. MALI
They're not short of talent, but Mali will have to be a lot more than that if they are to secure one of the three tickets in Group A.
They challenged South Sudan in the first half in Dakar last November, but collapsed in the third quarter to lose 85-60, their biggest margin of defeat in the first round.
However, a 66-64 win over Morocco gave Mali a sigh of relief and they will need to repeat that performance against the Moroccans if they are to book their ticket to Angola.
13. MADAGASCAR
Expectations are high for Madagascar to qualify for their first AfroBasket since hosting the tournament in 2011, especially as they have a realistic chance of joining Africa's top 16 in Angola.
Madagascar won one of their three games in Cairo in February 2024 and the support of their home fans could be just what they need to qualify, but overcoming their main rivals in Group D - Central African Republic - is a must.
12. RWANDA
Rwanda struggled to get past Senegal and Cameroon in Dakar in November, but when the chance to beat Gabon on the final day presented itself, they took it and revived their chances of qualifying.
They are now one of the three favourites to progress from Group C.
11. UGANDA
The possible return of Ishmail Wainright not only gives Uganda a chance of progressing, it also boosts the Silverbacks' chances of winning more than one game.
In February 2024, Uganda lost to Cape Verde and Libya, but a 72-62 win over Nigeria proved to be a lifeline.
The Ugandans have not missed an AfroBasket appearance since 2015 and will need to maintain their fighting spirit to make it to Angola in August.
10. LIBYA
Who would have thought twelve months ago, when the 2025 AfroBasket qualifiers began, that Libya would be in a strong position to qualify for their first AfroBasket since hosting the tournament in 2009?
For the North Africans, led by coach Fouad Chacra, beating Nigeria and Uganda in the first round of Group B was a continuation of their successful pre-qualifying campaign against Morocco.
Now playing in front of their home fans, Libya are certainly a team to watch.
9. CAMEROON
One of the hottest teams to watch in these qualifiers has to be Cameroon, as they proved when they almost upset hosts Senegal in front of their home fans in Dakar.
The Cameroonians head into the final phase of the tournament with a 2-1 record and a good chance of beating all three of their Group C opponents.
Can Cameroon be one of the 16 teams to qualify for AfroBasket 2025? The facts speak for themselves. THE ANSWER IS YES.
8. EGYPT
The Egyptians had a bitter pill to swallow when they lost 79-76 at home to Côte d'Ivoire in February 2024.
Leading by seven points (72-65) with 4:46 to play, they allowed Côte d'Ivoire to go on a 12-0 scoring run and missed out on a chance to win all three games in the first round.
Egypt are now 2-1 up, but correcting their mistakes and trying to beat Côte d'Ivoire is a top priority, as is avoiding upsets against Madagascar and Central African Republic.
7. ANGOLA
The 2025 AfroBasket hosts head to Tripoli to try and fine-tune their form under coach Josep Claros, who was unavailable in the first round in Monastir.
Angola's biggest lesson in the first round was an 82-73 defeat at the hands of bitter rivals Tunisia in a game that could have gone either way until the Southern Africans found themselves 15 points down in the third quarter and struggling to regain the lead.
Kenya and Guinea, two teams fighting for their lives, will certainly be a challenge for Angola.
6. DR CONGO
Spirits are high after the Congolese team's victory over South Sudan, who are currently Africa's number one team in the FIBA World Ranking.
The question now is: can DR Congo repeat their three wins in a row from the first round? The answer is that it will be very difficult, not least because they will have to contend with South Sudan and a desperate Morocco side still searching for their first win of the tournament.
5. CAPE VERDE
If you ask Cape Verdean basketball fans where the Blue Sharks will be in August, the answer is sure to be home.
Not that they will be in Cape Verde, but in Angola - a country that is home to the largest Cape Verdean community in Africa - which will be hosting AfroBasket for the third time in its history.
Cape Verde top Group B and if they play with the same level and intensity as they did in Monastir in February 2024, it will be difficult for Libya, Nigeria and Uganda to end their winning streak.
4. TUNISIA
Winning all three of their games in front of their home fans in the first round of the AfroBasket Qualifiers in February 2024 was all Tunisia needed after a disappointing campaign in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers.
The reigning AfroBasket champions are playing solid and methodical basketball under new coach Medhy Mary, but it remains to be seen how they will fare on neutral soil.
3. SOUTH SUDAN
Of the 12 players who featured for South Sudan in the first round of these qualifiers, only three - Nuni Omot, Wenyen Gabriel and Jackson Makoi - represented the Bright Stars at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where they challenged the world's best teams.
It was a far cry from the team that made the world sit up and take notice, but even so, South Sudan had moments of brilliance in Dakar, but their defeat to DR Congo on the final day has only increased their hunger to come back better and stronger for the final stage of the qualifiers, where they are likely to confirm their second consecutive appearance at the AfroBasket.
2. SENEGAL
The first round of these qualifiers marked the start of the post-Gorgui Dieng era. Dieng retired in 2023, but a collection of talented players led by Brancou Badio continue to give Senegalese basketball fans reason to be confident.
Senegal passed a stern test in the first round by beating Cameroon to finish with a respectable 3-0 record, and their chances of making it to Angola are almost guaranteed if they win one of their three games in Rabat, Morocco.
1. COTE D'IVOIRE
Côte d'Ivoire made a bold statement when they challenged and defeated Egypt in Cairo to finish top of Group D in the first round of these qualifiers.
The Elephants head to Madagascar with more than half their work done in qualifying for the quadrennial AfroBasket, which returns to Angola this summer for the first time since 2007.
But can Côte d'Ivoire finish the tournament unbeaten? That's the question that Egypt, their toughest opponents in the group, will have to answer.
Note:The Power Rankings are entirely subjective and is in no way a true, accurate ranking system. All comments are purely those of the author.
FIBA