The Cubs came to shut Algeria down

The African U18 Championships continued today (Saturday, August 06, 2022), and the first game of the day was a thriller.

Both teams began their campaigns with hopes of impressing the crowd and potential scouts.

From the first quarter, the Senegalese and Algerians showed us teamwork, great passing and a well-prepared defence. Giving Senegal a slight advantage 19 - 16.

Ousmane Ndiaye (10 points) and captain Mohamed Faye (7 points) made crowd-pleasing plays which gave Senegal confidence and flare.

As for the Algerian side, it was a team effort with a masterclass on how to share the ball and use the shot clock to your advantage.

Captain Omar Salah had 9 points in the first but would end the game with 13.

The lead changed nine times and tied five but Senegal smiled as they skipped into the locker room. Ending the half with a four-point lead (40 - 36).

It was the third quarter when we saw Senegal break away.

Ndiaye poised in the paint (ended with 21 points), and Mohamed (gained his first double-double of the competition) with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

But let's give credit to the bench who added for 27 points to the score-sheet and showing that sharing the minutes was a great strategy.

“We did not have a good rotation against this good team from Senegal. We missed our four injured”.

Algerian Head Coach Farouk Saifi added.‍

Algeria gave it a good run with Chakib Sedoud scoring 20 points and Zayd Yahiaoui with 13 but the opps made had done too much damage from the 3-point line in the third that they couldn’t recover.

With the Cubs winning 76 - 59, they started as they meant to go on.

[Image/Photography Credit: FIBA]