ANTANANARIVO (Madagascar) - February 22, 2025 will forever be remembered as the day Madagascar beat Egypt for the first time in its history.
But for Sitraka Raharimanantoanina, the 2.07m (6ft9in) Malagasy center, this date will remind him of the moment when he broke the record for blocks in a match.
"I'm happy to have had such an impact on the group and the outcome of the game - Sitraka Raharimanantoanina
Before him, the best blocking performance was achieved by Senegal's Pape Malick Dime, in February 2021 against Mozambique. He rejected six shots back then.
For the first time in his career at the Palais des Sports, Raharimanantoanina - who only played preparatory matches in the Malagasy arena during his time in Madagascar - wrote his name as the most effective blocker in the AfroBasket Qualifiers, with seven swats!
“It's a real pleasure to come here and put in this kind of performance in front of such a crowd,” he says.
His intimidating presence has given the Egyptian players nightmares.
So much so that they had to wait until he was benched for any offensive strategy.
Just ask the Egyptian team. In fact, you only had to look at their discomfited faces after Raharimanantoanina's blocks to understand how disgusted they were.
Yet he came with the sole intention of doing his job. “I've loved blocking shots since I started playing basketball. It's something that comes to me instinctively. There's a certain amount of preparation, but it's mostly instinctive.”
It has to be said that the build-up for the match against Egypt played a vital part in his performance. “After the defeat to Côte d'Ivoire, we spoke to each other. We said to each other that we had something to try, but we didn't believe in it until the day of the match.”
And to overcome Egypt, the players had to work hard on themselves. “We had to stay confident in our strengths, and concentrate on what we knew best - fighting to go and get this win.”
When the final whistle blew, there was a sense of accomplishment. "I'm happy to have had such an impact on the group and the outcome of the game. We wanted to do well for ourselves, for our fans. Now we have other goals."
With this record, he has written a page in the history of African basketball. He hopes to write more at FIBA AfroBasket 2025 in Angola.
FIBA