DAKAR (Senegal) - DR Congo returned to the international stage in the same fashion they closed their last appearance in a FIBA competition.. with a win. And, 72 seems to be a magic number for the Leopards.
DR Congo closed their 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers with a 72-68 win over Tunisia on February 26, 2023, and, on Friday, they outscored Mali 72-64 to mark the start of their AfroBasket 2025 Qualifiers campaign.
The eight-point win was a reflection of most of the first three quarters where no team reached a double digits lead.
TURNING POINT: Mali seemed to have run out of gas in the fourth quarter, when DR Congo embarked on a scoring spree while forcing them to turn the ball over countless times.
When DR Congo reached a double digit lead (60-49) for the first time with six minutes left and extended their advantage to 67-52 with four minutes remaining, it was game over for a young Malian team trying to build a new identity.
HERO: Jordan Sakho and Claude Luetete, the only Congolese to score in double digits, did it all on both ends of the floor. Sakho was a rebound shy of a double-double, finishing 16 points and 9 rebounds while floor general Claude Luetete led all players in scoring, finishing 20 points.
STATS DON'T LIE: It wasn't a particularly attractive game as reflected on the 20+ turnovers each team produced, however, in a low-scoring game like this, making only 14 of their 24 free-throws could be costly, and Mali will need to do better from the charity stripe next time.
Aliou Diarra's double-double performance of 13 points and 10 rebounds wasn't enough to rescue Mali.
BOTTOM LINE: Had Mali kept the same composure from the first half they could have come up with a win but, the Congolese'a aggressive defense was difficult to overcome.
WHAT THEY SAID: "We did what we were supposed to do, but their bigs did a good job rebounding the ball. We missed some easy shots that we usually make. It was a combination of factors that prevented us from winning." - Mali forward Ibrahim Djambo.
FIBA