There will be 18 games in this week’s Window 4 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and Monastir, Tunisia, but five of those will be key. The games will be key because of the level of talent, skillful coaching staff and, more importantly, the rivalry involved and the impact those games can have on the outcome of the World Cup Africa Qualifiers. Egypt vs Tunisia (Friday, August 26 - Monastir) Some of the hottest topics in African basketball circles lately has been about the growth and potential of the Egyptian team under Canadian coach Roy Rana. The Pharaohs seem to be the team that Tunisia was a decade ago: Young, highly confident and enormously competitive. And, on Friday, Egypt will go up against a highly experienced Tunisia team, who will look to protect their home-court. When Egypt and Tunisia faced off a year ago at Afrobasket, the two-time defending African champions Tunisia rallied from a 19-point deficit to prevail 87-81, in what was one of Tunisia’s toughest tests before retaining their title. Omar Oraby (2.18m), Anas Mahmoud (2.14m) are the twin towers whom Coach Rana hopes to try and stop while seven-footer Salah Mejri is one of Tunisia’s main offensive weapons. Egypt and Tunisia is too close to call but the team that makes fewer mistakes (defensively) will have the last laugh. One thing that Tunisians haven’t forgotten and have used as an inspiration is their disappointing 2013 Afrobasket campaign, which ended abruptly in the eight finals at the expense of a young Egyptian team that went on to finish second while they failed to defend their Afrobasket title. Senegal vs South Sudan (Friday, August 26-Abidjan) South Sudan demolished Senegal 104-75 when the sides met a year ago at Afrobasket, however this time both teams are in good form. No one expected Senegal to be in a position they are now (2-3) in the African Qualifiers, and very few imagined South Sudan would be just three wins away from their first-ever World Cup appearance with six games left. Senegal arrived in Monastir looking to move on from their poor and questionable performances in Windows 2 and 3; they brought in DeSagana Diop, as new coach while high-flying South Sudan have learned from their mistakes and hope to build on their splendid form. Both teams have size, shooters and slashers, making this one watch out for. Ivory Coast vs Nigeria (Saturday, August 27-Monastir) The last time D’Tigers visited Abidjan in the last window of the 2019 World Cup African Qualifiers, they suffered a humiliating 72-46 defeat. Now Nigeria desperately needs to transform their 2-2 mark into a 5-2, but taking on Ivory Coast in their first Group E game seems to be a challenge for the ages. Ivory Coast on the other hand, currently boast a perfect 4-0, and need three more wins to return for the World Cup for the second straight time. Coach Mike Brown is back at the helm of Nigeria and hopes to relaunch D’Tigers’s World Cup bid. Tunisia vs Senegal (Sunday, August 28-Abidjan) Two of the five teams that represented Africa in the last World Cup find themselves fighting for their survival in the race to Indonesia, Japan and Philippines. Tunisia keeps positive memories of their last meeting against Senegal. Back in 2015, host Tunisia had just fallen short to Angola in the semi-finals, but in the third-place game, the Eagles of Carthage outclassed Senegal. Angola vs Nigeria (Sunday, August 28-Abidjan) Angola’s fall from grace began on August 30, 2015 when they lost to Nigeria in the most important game of the Championship. The two sides haven’t met since. For years, Angola became Nigeria’s main obstruction to the continental crown, but things have changed with D’Tigers currently ranked as Africa’s No.1 team - according to FIBA World Rankings - while the eleven-time African champions are experiencing a rebuilding process. What makes this matchup an intriguing one is the fact that Nigeria and Angola share a 2-2 mark apiece in Group E. Whoever wins this battle on Sunday won’t look back and will bolster their World Cup Africa Qualifiers campaign.
