FIBA U18 AfroBasket: Mali Punch Ninth Straight Semi-Final Ticket, Hold Off Late Tunisia Surge

A fourth-quarter, 13-0 Tunisia run made things interesting, but it came too late to matter in Abidjan as Mali's dominance at the FIBA U18 AfroBasket continued on Thursday with the defending champions easing past Tunisia 66-55 to reach the semi-finals for a ninth straight tournament.

Mali showed what a true team effort looks like as nearly everyone on the roster found a way to contribute, with all but one player getting on the scoreboard. Mohamed Keita and Mahamadou Sylla carried the offense, each finishing with 12 points to lead their side. For Tunisia, it was a trio who stepped up when it mattered as Rafrafi poured in 15, Fed El Air added 14 points, and Abderahmen Bouguerra chipped in 12, each reaching double figures in a losing effort.

The opening quarter at the Palais des Sports de Treichville unfolded as a cagey affair before emphatically swinging in Mali's favor over the second and third quarters. After trading blows in an opening period that saw Mali edged past the North Africans narrowly 19-18. The title holders locked in defensively in the second quarter, holding Tunisia to just seven points while adding 14 of their own to take control of the game and they never let go of it as the scoreline was 33-25 at halftime.

The knockout blow came in the third quarter, when Mali outscored Tunisia 23-8 to turn a manageable deficit into a blowout as the Malians built their advantage on the back of an 11-0 scoring run, stretching what had been a three-point Tunisian lead early on into a cushion that eventually swelled to as many as 26 points which was comfortably the largest of the afternoon for either side.

Tunisia, to their credit, did not fold and despite facing a blowout, they came out swinging in the fourth quarter, firing off a 13-0 run of their own and outscoring Mali 22-10 over the final ten minutes to inject some late drama into the scoreline. But the deficit built over the second and third quarters proved too steep to climb, and Mali saw out the win comfortably enough, having led for all but 2 minutes and 57 seconds of the entire game.

Efficiency told much of the story. Mali shot 44 percent from the field, including 53.7 percent on two-point attempts, and made 71.4 percent of their free throws — a difference-maker in the tight moments. Tunisia, by contrast, could only manage 32 percent shooting overall and 29.6 percent on twos, though they did outshoot Mali from three-point range, hitting at a 36.8 percent clip compared to Mali's 34.8 percent.

The Malians will next face fellow West Africans Senegal on Saturday for a place in the final.

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[Image Credit -FIBA ]