- As Rwanda Shock Angola, Book Ticket To Semi-Final
THE Democratic Republic of Congo has advanced into the semi-finals of the 2023 FIBA AfroCan after they saw off Nigeria on the score of 74-72 in a nail-biting finish at the Kilamba Arena, in Luanda on Thursday.
Congo, who are the defending champions, have extended their winning streak to 3-0 (8-0 overall dating back to 2019) after they overcame a resilient D’Tigers of Nigeria to remain perfect.
The Congolese managed to keep their opponents at bay, even though the latter came to the court with the intention of upsetting the balance of power.
Nigeria may have regretted missing two early baskets, but they still gave the defending champions a run for their money.
The DRC have qualified for the next edition of the AfroCan and will face Morocco in the semi-finals while Nigeria will play the classification round for the fifth-place finish.
The turning moment of the game happened just before the end of the second quarter when Nigeria rediscovered their attacking efficiency and began to close in on the DRC.
In fact, D’Tigers went into the break trailing by just 8 points, despite having been down by more than 10 points for the first two periods.
But once they were back on the floor, they regained their momentum and closed to within 4 points (58-54), while the DRC struggled to score.
In the final quarter, the DRC regained their composure and used the speed of Bobo Kasongo Kasasa to regain the lead.
But in a superhuman effort, Nigeria came back to 64-64, then took the lead on a three-pointer by Kanyisola Joseph Odufuwa. It took all the skill and composure of Evariste Shongoya to score the two points that would give the DRC victory.
The Congolese enjoyed a superb run of three-point shooting at the start of the game, hitting an incredible 7 out of 15 shots to take the lead from the outset. In contrast, Nigeria managed just six points from their nine attempts from the three-point line.
Another interesting stat is the number of rebounds. Nigeria pulled out all the stops to finish with a total of 43 rebounds, 17 of them offensive. In contrast, the DRC only grabbed 4 offensive rebounds, preferring to lock down their defence with 35 defensive rebounds.
There were a few players who could claim the title of hero of the match. But preference goes to Evariste Shongoya, scorer of 20 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists! Pitchou Manga, the Congolese captain, put in an outstanding performance with 15 points and 15 rebounds to help his team reach the semi-finals.
After the gruelling confrontation, Congo forward Evariste Shonganya has this to say; “It was a tough match, with the Nigerians never tiring. They ran from start to finish. We had a bit of a scare at the end, but that’s the game. We tried to hold them until the end. We managed to improve our three-point shooting. That held us back during the game, but we’re going to keep trying from the outside. I was pleased to see our team doing so well from three-point range. We’re going to try and respect our next opponent.”
In another exciting development from the Angolan capital of Luanda, Rwanda qualified for the semi-finals of the 2023 FIBA AfroCan thanks to a hard-fought 73-63 victory over hosts Angola on Thursday.
The hosts thus failed in their quest for a first AfroCan title, while Rwanda can afford to dream of a historical podium finish.
It was a must-win game for the Angolans, who were outplayed by Rwanda in the opening stages of the encounter.
Rwanda went into half-time with a six-point lead (38-32).
It took all the concentration and desire of Angola, buoyed by their fans to get back into the game for good in the third quarter.
But Rwanda’s determination at the end of the game, coupled with Angola’s attacking errors, opened up a gap for the team coached by Yves Murenzi.
Glofate Buiamba cemented Angola’s grip on the match when he scored the free throw that brought the Angolans level with Rwanda in the third quarter (47-47). And Emanuel Sebastiao was on hand to give the Lusophones the lead with 3’28 remaining in the quarter.
However, far from giving up, Rwanda rallied to cling on to Angola’s heels (61-60), leaving the hosts very little room for manoeuvre.
But in yet another attacking burst, Rwanda regained the lead (68-63), then made it 71-63 with 51 seconds to go, thanks to Jean-Jacques Nshobozwabyosenumikiza, who scored twice, in quick succession, from the three-point line to give his team the lead.
Rwanda understood that victory would come through a better rebounding presence. And that’s exactly what they did, with 28 offensive and 22 defensive rebounds. In the same vein, they scored 13 of the 17 shots they were allowed.
Angola, on the other hand, were only able to score 10 of their 24 free throws, while taking just 45 rebounds.
And Rwanda took full advantage of the many loose balls (22) by scoring 21 points! Enough to make the difference in the match.
Ntore Habimana put in another XXL performance, scoring 14 points to help Rwanda hold off Angola, while two Angolans, Braz Macachi and Keneth Manuel, each passed 10 points to the Rwandan defence.
But the real hero was Nshobozwabyosenumukiza. With a 7-0 run in the dying seconds of the match and 22 points to his name, the Rwandan point guard made the difference and gave his country a historic qualification.
“I’m very happy to be playing for my country. We followed the instructions which were to prevent any turnover. And the result shows,” Rwandan hero Nshobozwa said after the game.
Rwanda will now face Cote d’Ivoire in a double-header for both sides, with the declared hope of finally clinching a ticket to the AfroCan final this Sunday.
SEMI-FINAL PAIRINGS:
D.R Congo v Morocco
Rwanda v Cote D’Ivoire
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