Angola, Egypt storm FIBA quarter-finals

Today Angola vs DR Congo 11:15amBenin vs Uganda 1:30pmGabon vs Ivory Coast 15:45pmAlgeria vs Mali 6pmEgypt vs Tunisia 8:15pm Angola and Egypt have become the first teams to reach the quarter-finals of the 2016 FIBA-Africa U18 Championships taking place at Amahoro indoor stadium in Kigali. Angola thrashed debutants Uganda 105-59 to book their slot in the quarters at the continental youth competition. Bruno Fernandes nailed a game high 21 points despite sitting out the second quarter, while Tarcio Domingos added 14 points. Egypt put up a stellar performance to seal victory over a determined DR Congo side 95-68 on Sunday, and will wind up their group campaign against North African archrivals Tunisia at 8:15pm today. Angola takes on DR Congo in the days’ first game at 11:15am. Both Angola and Egypt have registered three wins each heading into today’s fixtures and before what promises to be a tough encounter between the two teams on Wednesday evening. The top four teams in each group qualify for the quarter-finals. Egypt top Group B, level with second-placed Angola, while Tunisia and DR Congo are third and fourth respectively. Uganda and Benin are placed bottom of the group all with three points each. Tunisia beat Benin 86-33 to improve their winning ratio to 2-1. The victory saw them rise to third place in Group B with five points. Patrick Mwamba (DRC), leads the average individual player statistics rankings with 63% after three games, followed by Bruno Fernandes with 56%. Meanwhile, Mali handed hosts Rwanda their first defeat with a 61-40 victory. Rwanda started well, winning the first quarter 17-9 but slipped in the second quarter where they managed just two points. Rwanda faces Algeria on Tuesday; a game which head coach Moise Mutokambali believes his boys must win to progress to the quarter-finals. “We must do whatever it takes to win against Algeria if we’re to achieve our goal of reaching the quarter-finals. Algeria is a very strong side that is performing well in the tournament, so we have to be well prepared,” said Mutokambali. Despite defeat, Rwanda still top Group A with 5 points, while Gabon is bottom with just two points. Algeria edged Ivory Coast 58-45 in a tightly contested game to go joint-second with Mali on 4 points from three games.Mostefa Braik collected 18 points while Abderrahmane Hailouf picked an impressive 14 rebounds to guide Abidat Mohamed’s side to their second victory. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Angola, Egypt storm FIBA quarter-finals