Tunisia retained their AfroBasket title after surviving a
fightback from the Ivory Coast to win the tournament for a third time.
The Carthage Eagles opened up a seven point lead at the end
of the first quarter at the Kigali Arena in Rwanda and extended their advantage
to 47-34 at the break.
Ivory Coast fought back by winning the third quarter by the
same scoreline that their opponents took the first - 25-18, helped by a run of
outscoring their opponents 10-2.
The Elephants also took the final quarter but could not
overturn Tunisia’s lead, with the Tunisians triumphing 78-75, and becoming the
first side since Angola in 2009 to retain their AfroBasket crown.
Salah Mejri was Tunisia’s top scorer in the final, with 22
points and six rebounds, while Michael Roll contributed 18 points and nine
assists.
For Ivory Coast the top scorer was Souleyman Diabate, who
also netted 22 points, but it was not enough to help his side to victory.
Earlier today, Senegal defeated Cape Verde in the third
placed match, with the Senegalese winning all four quarters on their way to an
86-73 victory.