PRETORIA (South Africa) - The scores are already settled in two, of the three, groups at the ongoing U18 Women's AfroBasket with the automatic qualification places decided.
Four matches played on Sunday, 8 September decided both Groups A and C. Tunisia, Cameroon, Egypt and Uganda are all through to the Last Eight.
The Group Phase ends on Monday, 9 September with Group B action.
And here is how Sunday's action unfolded:
Tunisia's dominance continues in chase for second title
Former champions Tunisia have remained perfect in the group stage, winning their final Group A match 91-24 against hosts and debutants South Africa, to lead the group and book their place in the knockout stages.
The Wissem Chrayet-coached side overcame a slow start in the opening quarter, that had them going almost toe-to-toe with the hosts who have struggled throughout the competition, to win convincingly.
We had a lot of mistakes that we will need to work on before the next phase - Yoldez Ben Belaid
After a 17-14 scoreline in the opening quarter, Tunisia, whose charge was led by Yoldez Ben Belaid with 26 points, took full charge of the match in the second period, going 37-3 ahead to carry a massive 37-point advantage (54-17) to the half-time break.
The Tunisians came off the locker room guns blazing again, taking South Africa head on again for a 23-4 third quarter. The final stanza was low scoring, Tunisia still dominating 14-3.
Ines Ben Rejeb and Nour Horchani managed double digits with 15 and 11 respectively in the victory.
Despite the victory, top scorer Yoldez believes this was a below-par performance and they would to be better in the knockout stages where there are no second chances.
"It was not a good show from us. We had a lot of mistakes that we will need to work on before the next phase. We need to be more focused and stick to our game plan in the coming matches," she offered.
Comeback queens, Uganda dominate Nigeria to qualify
With both sides chasing a win to qualify for the Quarter-Finals, Uganda came back from a first quarter slip to confidently go over Nigeria in an 80-64 outcome.
The Nigerians had a strong start, going 23-19 ahead, but John Omondi's Junior Gazelles turned the tables with a 22-16 second quarter performance that gave them the lead into the second half at 41-39.
It was an entertaining third quarter as Nigeria fought to regain their lead coming close on several occasions as the match remained, largely, a three-point game until the dying minutes when the East Africans pulled away to lead 58-49.
Resty Nanangwe and her crew completed the job with a 22-15 show as she competed the match as top scorer with a double-double of 31 points and 10 rebounds. Christine Namyalo and Modesta Anyango also bagged double digits in points with 21 and 11 respectively.
Cameroon stun Rwanda to go through
Cameroon are having a debut to remember as they are through to the quarters on their first-ever U18 assignment.
We remained focused, trusted each other more on the court and we managed to win - Kenya Kipo
Powered by the indefatigable Damaris Emedie and Kelya Kipo, Cameroon easily dispensed Rwanda 79-46 to finish second in Group A and qualify automatically for the knockout stages.
Emedie and Kipo combined for 41 points as the Central Africans took charge in a all quarter for 17-14, 25-11, 18-13 and 19-08.
Emedie was a thorn in Rwanda's flesh as she dropped 21 points, completing her double-double with 17 rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 assists and 3 steals.
"It was a good day for us. We played as a team and were able to run our plays as planned. We remained focused, trusted each other more on the court and we managed to win. We will carry this to the quarters as we hope to stay in contention," Kipo said after the match.
Ange Majolie Lonteu's Cameroon continue their campaign in the quarters set for Wednesday 11 September.
Egypt hammer Zimbabwe to remain undefeated
Reigning U18 Women's AfroBasket silver medalists Egypt move to the quarters in high spirits after crashing Zimbabwe 122-27 to headline Group C.
There were no surprises as to how the match panned out, with a 32-4 start a clear indication of how it would unfold. Quarters of 21-6, 32-9 and 37-8 led the North Africans to victory.
"We are sending an early warning to others that we are bringing the same energy to the other matches. We will focus more on defense. We did a great job in the group phase and the offense worked and we will keep the same momentum going forward," Egypt's Jude Alaaeldin who led the scoring with 21 said.
Khadiga Abouelghait added 18 to the tally, one more than Fairouz Abdelghaffar as Nour Gamaleldin and Haya Alhalawany contributed 13 and 11 respectively. Haya Abdelaal led the side in rebounding with 12, coming two points shy of a double-double.
Ruvimbo Daphene Sibanda led Zimbabwe's campaign with 13 points and 9 rebounds but her efficiency was dealt a huge blow by 16 of her side's 66 turnovers.
The Southern Africans are relegated to the 9-11 Classification Round as Egypt advance.
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