FIBA AfroBasket 2021 Day 4 recap

After day three of FIBA AfroBasket 2021 had four close games, day four saw all four games decided by double figures.

In the first game of the day in Group D, Uganda got their first win of the tournament, defeating Cameroon 80-66.

Ish Wainright almost recorded a triple-double with nine points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.

Uganda had four players score in double figures with Adam Seiko (20 points), Robinson Opong (15 points), Deng Geu (14 points) and Arthur Kaluma (12 points).

Cameroon, meanwhile, played their first game of the tournament after forfeiting their last game to South Sudan due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

They struggled shooting the ball, going 21-of-79 from the field and 6-of-36 from three-point.

Due to their forfeited game, Cameroon (0-2) has no chance to advance to the next round, while Uganda moves to 1-1.

In the second game of the day, Nigeria took down Kenya 71-55 in Group C.

Nigeria had a balanced attack led by Uzodinma Utomi with 17 points.

Jeremiah Mordi scored 10 points and three other players had nine points each.

Kenya’s assist-to-turnover ratio was a staggering 8:28.

Kenya’s leader Tylor Ongwae couldn’t find his shot today, scoring four points on 2-of-13 from the field and 0-of-7 from three-point.

Albert Odero led Kenya with 23 points, shooting an efficient 10-of-15 from the field and grabbing eight rebounds.

Nigeria (2-0) has a chance to win Group C in their final group phase game against Cote d’Ivoire, while Kenya (0-2) will square off against Mali in a do-or-die game with the third and final spot in the group up for grabs.

In a Group C game, Cote d’Ivoire had a wire-to-wire victory over Mali, 90-67.

Mali trailed by as many as 32 points and got outrebounded 53-34.

Matt Costello double-doubled for Cote d’Ivoire with 25 points and 12 rebounds and is now the tournament’s leading scorer with 22.5 points per game through two games.

Cote d’Ivoire was 51.5 percent from the field, while Mali shot only 31 percent.

19-year-old guard Siriman Kanoute led Mali with 19 points and five assists.

Cote d’Ivoire (2-0) will play for the top spot in Group C when they take on Nigeria next, while Mali (0-2) needs a win against Kenya to advance to the next round, as the loser will be eliminated.

In the final game of the day, Senegal beat South Sudan 104-75 and still looks like a frontrunner to make a championship run.

This was the first game that South Sudan played after they received a victory via forfeit against Cameroon.

History was made, as South Sudan played in their first-ever AfroBasket game.

Brancou Badio and Gorgui Dieng paced Senegal in the victory.

Badio, 22, recorded 22 points, four rebounds, seven assists and four steals, while Dieng recorded 17 points and seven rebounds.

Every player except one scored for Senegal.

South Sudan had two 17-point scorers in Kuany Kuany and Dhieu Deing.

Senegal (2-0) has clinched the top spot in Group D, while South Sudan (1-1) will play Uganda next to decide who is second and third in the group.

Groups C and D standings:

Group C

Next games for Group C: Kenya vs. Mali and Nigeria vs. Cote d’Ivoire on Aug. 29.

Group D

Next games for Group D: South Sudan vs. Uganda and Senegal vs. Cameroon on Aug. 29.