Mali outplay six-time champions Nigeria in sensational clash.

Some victories seem more rewarding than others especially when you stun a competition favorite and continental juggernaut. Mali's U18 players are ecstatic after outclassing six-time African champions Nigeria in a cracking quarter-final clash between both nations.

Two years after settling for third place in Madagascar, Mali coached by Moussa Cisse headed to the court with gigantic ambitions of worming their way to the final four while the Nigerians who lastly came close to a podium 16 years ago in Egypt were hoping to renew with a sensation which they seem to have forgotten what it was like by getting to the semis.

With both teams nurturing huge ambitions, the game got off to a tremendous as 8 seconds into the match Daubuna-Chule Dan-Mutum shook off his marker to unleash a three-pointer and give Nigeria the lead to set the tempo. Mali’s Amadou Traore quickly reverted with a 2-point hook shot as his teammate Mamadou Diarra followed up with a layup to give Mali a 4-3 lead. Both teams had back and forths as Mamadou Diarra of Mali contributed 8 points in the first quarter. When the game tied at 19-19, Nigeria turned to the genius of Isaac Oluwatemitope Ezekiel who after converting one from the charity line, did just enough to position himself beyond the arc to trigger a 3-point jump shot and grant Nigeria a 23-19 lead.

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But the no-nonsensical Malians returned for the second quarter meaning business, shuffling the deck defensively and playing aggressively on offense to end the quarter 21-15 and take a 40-38 lead when both teams headed into the locker rooms at halftime.

Cognizant that they had floundered defensively in the second quarter, Nigeria kept a tight leash on Mali scrapping a narrow 15-14 lead with the explosive display from both sides foretelling of the storm that had to come in the fourth quarter.

Mali’s duo of Ibrahim Oumar Doumbia and Mamby Traore decided to set the court ablaze with 7 and 6 points respectively in the fourth quarter as they powered their team to victory. With Nigeria unable to properly defend and contain the more athletic Malian side, the Nigerian defense became a circus, a symphony of cacophony that Malians explored scoring 23 points from fast breaks and 38 points in the paint. Nigeria’s meltdown was impressive, and the Malians enjoyed every second, clinching the fourth quarter 27-17 to get a convincing 81-70 win over the six-time champions.

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Youssouf Traore scored a double-double (17 points and 14 rebounds) with four other Malian players Ibrahim Doumbia (17 points), Mamadou Traore (17 points), Mamadou Diarra (14 points) and Sekou Bagayoko (12 points) all hitting double digits. Isaac Oluwatemitope Ezekiel (24 points) was Nigeria’s silver lining in dark clouds.

The young Nigerians with heads in their hands exited the court and will have no time to languish over their fate as a ranking game against Egypt awaits on Friday. The young Malians after a few dance steps turned their minds to their semi-final clash against Senegal as they eye at most a third African title and at least a 10th podium finish in 13 participations in the event.

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[Photography / Imagery Courtesy of FIBA]

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