Angola humble defending champions Egypt to seal playoff spot

The defending champions were determined to continue their unbeaten run and go through without complication as they faced this resolute Angolan side. However, Angola was not going to take it lying down as they needed a win in order to qualify for the playoffs.

This group was filled with 3 of the 5 winners of the tournament and guaranteed blockbuster basketball. The two African heavyweights got off to a good start as Egypt opened the score. The first quarter was filled with a few displays of athleticism as there were emphatic blocks on both ends. The quarter would end with the score at 18-14 in favor of Egypt. Anas Rezk scored 7 points in the first period whilst Angola’s captain, Aginaldo Neto recorded 6 points, 3 assists and one block in the first quarter.

Manuel Camboma (NBA Academy) opened the second quarter in the most scintillating of ways with a three-point shot and lit a fire under his teammates. However, that was short lived as Egypt went on to have a few attempts despite not converting them. This was a cause of concern for Angola as Egypt dominated on the glass and afforded for themselves many second chance opportunities despite not converting them.

Angola tied the game at 19 points and the score remained that way for a while until Khairy Hussin made 3 free-throws to give Egypt the lead. They were able to get some momentum but could only manage a five-point lead. The quarter came to an end with the score at 30-29 to Egypt although it was Angola’s Mateus Abraem who erupted for 9 points in the quarter and led all scorers.

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Mateus Abraem had the following to say

I think we fought hard through team fun and defense to win the game... we know they [Egypt] are a good three-point shooting team and we defended well... Let's have more claw, let's fight hard and win more games.

The third quarter started with another block by Aginaldo Neto which led to an open Celestino Augusto layup that he would miss. That miss would prove costly as it was to give Angola the lead. The first point of the quarter would only come in after 2 minutes of play by Angola’s Josemar Cesar. There would be several lead changes in the quarter.

This quarter was filled with missed shots by Angola and turnovers by Egypt. Sansao Wika hit a deep 3 to give Angola the lead. The Lusophones put up an emphatic third quarter show despite having Neto and Camboma on the bench for most of the quarter. Angola enjoyed a 42-39 lead at the end of the quarter knowing how much work they would have to do in the final quarter.

The fourth quarter was another slow quarter but with high intensity and physicality. Angola started the quarter with a 4-0 run. Khairy Hussin hit a deep 3 to revive the Egyptian hopes as he brought it to a one-point game. Omar Mowafak continued to make crucial contributions, many of which will not appear on the stat sheet, to keep his team in the game.

One such example was his perfect screen that led Hussin to the rim where he would get fouled to shoot two free-throws. Ali Assran (NBA Academy) got a put-back layup and then a block on the defensive end. However, there was still little separating the two teams as they were tied at 54 points with 10.8 seconds left when the Egyptian coach, Ahmed Elghary, got a technical foul after his protest to the referee for what he thought was an apparent foul on his player, Khairy Hussin.

Neto converted the free-throw, giving Angola a one-point lead and few seconds later, Neto was fouled with the Angolan teenage sensation scoring both free-throws to give Angola a 57-54 lead with some seconds to go. Egypt's last gasp shot would go to waste as Angola held on to that lead to claim victory in what was a repeat of the FIBA U18 AfroBasket final in 2016 where Angola overpowered Egypt late in the game. Both teams advance to the playoffs with Egypt topping the pool with a better point differential.

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[Photography / Imagery Courtesy of FIBA]