Tunisia, the reigning African champions, preferred to launch their tournament and start Afrobasket 2021 by outclassing Guinea in the opening match (82-46). Rwanda did not miss its meeting with the crowd against Congo while Cape Verde created a sensation by defeating Angola.
The debut for the celebration of 60 years of FIBA Africa began with a party in Rwanda, the hub of 2021 for African basketball after hosting the Basketball African League in May. The public in Kigali Arena, Rwanda’s sporting jewel, must have appreciated the spectacle of the Carthage Eagles flying over the opening match by disposing of Guinea (82-46).
Egypt also did not tremble against the Central African Republic (72-56) despite an obvious clumsiness at the beginning of the meeting. The Pharaohs waited until the 5th minute to really register their first basket. Therefore, a sleepy first quarter ended with 13-9 for the Egyptians.
Despite an undeniable victory, the pharaohs must examine their specimen before facing Tunisia on Thursday for the shock of Pool A.
Rwanda, the host country, has also entered its competition well by selling Congo (82-68).
Finally, the last match of the day resulted in the first big surprise for Afrobasket with Angola’s defeat against Cape Verde (71-77). At the end of the night at the end of the extra time, the formation for the 11 African championship titles was overthrown by a Cape Verdean team that participates for the seventh time only in Afrobasket. The meeting was marked by a break in the game after Walter Tavares (2.21 m for 118 kg) crushed and damaged the frame after a dunk worthy of Shaquille O’Neal.
This Wednesday place, Group B with especially Nigeria and Senegal, two challengers for the final victory. The Lions, who have run behind a coronation since 1997, hope to finally lift the trophy for the sixth time. In any case, their coach, Boniface Ndong, believes that the podium is a minimum for his men.
The podium would be the smallest
Boniface Ndong, coach in Senegal
