Hosts South Africa fall short as Zambia clinch first U18 AfroBasket win

This is a day that will go down in history books for Zambia. As underdogs, they had nothing to lose against the hosts, who were all out to prove to their fans that they could go to the next level.

So much so that they kick-started the game with Zenzo Langelihle Madlala, Neo Nathan Moja and Judah Townsend giving the locals a 8-0 lead early in the first quarter. A quick timeout, and Zambia were back on track, and closed the gap to 6 points.

But powered by Franck Siame, Zambia began a comeback that saw them go from behind to take the lead. Chomba Mulenga, Kelvin Mulenga and Brighton Kazili orchestrated Zambia's comeback to lead 17-12 with just over three minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Far from settling, they went on to extend their lead to 21-12 with two minutes to go before the first buzzer. Chomba Mulenga added to the lead with 1'24 remaining in the first quarter, and the score remained there.

In the second quarter, South Africa turned the tables. Taite Hendricks got the South Africans off to a flying start, while Kazili and Chomba Mulenga who were among the liveliest, fought fire with fire.

Zambia led 25-14, but South Africa made up ground and found themselves ten points behind their opponents (29-19) thanks to the efforts of Madlala, Warona Bokang Sikwane and Enzokuhle Mweli.

While Zambia broke the 30-point barrier, South Africa were not far behind (31-24). The combined efforts of Madlala, Mweli, Hendricks and Moja enabled them to regain the lead (34-33), only to lose it in the process. The second quarter, which kept everyone on their toes, ended 38-35 in Zambia's favour, although it was South Africa who proved more realistic with a score of 23-15.

After the break, the two teams were unable to settle the tie and ended the third quarter on a 13-13 scoreline. The three-point advantage (51-48) went to Zambia, who were finally able to take off again in the final quarter.

South Africa rallied a little and pulled level at 50-51. A three-pointer from Chadley Royce Hargreaves put the hosts in front (53-51), but Brighton Kalizi and Elijah Hantete again gave the visitors the lead (55-53).

Hargreaves, in fine form from the arc, put South Africa back in front, but Siame's reply saw Zambia regain the upper hand.

When the hosts reached 57 points, they seemed to stall, while everything seemed to be going well for the visitors, who went two and then three points clear (59-57, 60-57). The two teams went back and forth, and it wasn't until a Hantete layup that Zambia took the lead for good.

From there, the South African attack came up against a better organized defense and remained stuck at the 61-point mark. Zambia, meanwhile, took advantage of the situation to cruise to their first-ever victory at the U18 AfroBasket, winning 70-61 thanks to a final goal from Kalizi.

Kalizi put in an outstanding performance, including a double-double of 13 points and 19 rebounds, to help his team to victory. His team-mate Franck Siame also produced double figures (15 points and 10 rebounds) to contribute to his side's victory.

Blessed Wakunguma, who would account for 2 points and 10 rebounds, speaks about the game and how it unfolded. He gives credit to the whole team and assesses Zambia’s next games.  

 "The team performance was exciting. It was impressive for my teammates. We put up a good fight as we really wanted this win”. - Blessed Wakunguma mentioned after the game highlighting the secret to success “It was all about focus. There was some bad pressure. It was not easy. But we were only focused on today’s game. This has brought us motivation. We are really motivated. I think this has given us a chance to say we can repeat what we did today.”

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Photography / Imagery Courtesy of FIBA]

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