Malian Eagles fly past Senegalese Lions to secure first-ever AfroBasket Final

For the first time in their history, Mali qualified for the AfroBasket Final as the Eagles punched their ticket the hard way, grinding out an 88-80 semifinal win against powerhouse Senegal on Saturday night inside the Pavilhao Multiusos de Luanda. 

Mali's historic night was highlighted by a stellar 23-point performance from Mahamane Coulibaly, ably supported by Siriman Kanoute, who finished with 15 points and eight assists, and Oumar Ballo, who added 19 points.

For Senegal, they were led by Jean Jacques Boissy who finished with 19 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists but the team could not find a way past a determined Malian side in the West African battle. Brancou Badio also posted 15 points and 4 rebounds in the loss with Moustapha Diop adding 14 points and 5 rebounds in the defeat.

The game started out as a tense and complex tie with both teams locked in a battle of possession and had to devise a strategy to see who blinks first. Eventually Mali led with some nice disciplined baskets late on in the quarter to take a two-point lead before Senegal' Boissy stepped into the fray by making a powerful drive to the hoop and quickly made another steal afterwards. He was then fouled as he attempted a shot beyond the arc and was flawless from the free throw line by scoring all three to help his team close out the quarter with a 22-19 scoreline.

The second quarter began with Mali going on a 10-0 run to increase its advantage. They eventually took a 31-25 lead before Badio responded with a three-pointer and went on to tie the game at 31-31 due to some defensive lapses and turnovers but the Eagles quickly improved on their play and went into halftime leading by 8 points at 43-35.

Mali didn't take their foot off the gas as they stepped up the chase with a 12-point lead in the third quarter. Senegal knew they had to respond early and cut the lead. Boissy stepped forward and executed a skillful up-and-under move, drew the foul, and completed the three-point play to make it 63-54. Boissy was proving too hot to handle for the Malians as he kept shooting buckets but the Eagles maintained their edge (24-23) despite Diallo missing a last minute three-point shot as they headed for the final quarter at 67-58.

At this point, the Senegalese Lions knew they needed a big performance in the final quarter to avoid an upset. Boissy led with the fightback as they clawed their way back from a deep deficit to within six points, 68-62 but Mali had an answer. They slammed the door on the comeback with a series of fast breaks that ended up with a free throw and a cool finish by Kanoute. After Mali extended their lead at 79-72 with Ballo scoring two points with 4:07 seconds left on the clock, there was no room for another lead change as they held on to their win for a historic moment. Mali finished with a good stat in utilising points off turnovers with 23 as against Senegal's 21 and they also edged the fastbreak points at 23-18.

In the end, Mali are in their first AfroBasket final and will be looking to see if they can go all the way and win their first medal since 1972. The team can really look forward to making history as four players from the U19 side which made history back in 2019 by becoming the first African nation to reach the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Greece are in this current squad, Siriman Kanoute, Oumar Ballo, Fousseyni and Hassan Dramé, as well as head coach Alhadji Dicko. 

Speaking to AfricaBasket afterwards, Hassan Drame had this to say after the historic semifinal win on Saturday in Luanda.

"I'll be telling you guys,one thing that you all forgot is that Mali has got at least six players that win everywhere they go. So all we want is just a little respect, that's it, just a little. Right now, I think we already proved who we are, but we got one more to go and until you win the whole thing, no one will put their 100% respect on you. So we got one more to go, and time will tell."

On playing with his twin brother in the national team and how they managed to keep Badio and Boissy at bay, he added this.

“I mean, no matter what, nothing feels better than playing with your siblings in the same team and on top of that, in a national team, where you know your mum and dad are sitting on the TV and watching you play."

Because they (Boissy and Badio) have been the factor that has given a lot of teams problems. I mean a couple of us knew we had only one job and that was to get in and be able to wear them down. That was our goal and we didn't care if we scored or not, the one mission was just to go and wear them down

The pair were meeting for the second time in Angola during this competition but this was the most crucial win as Senegal won the first meeting during the group phase 80-70. Attention now shifts to the big one against Angola in the chase for a first continental title at the senior level for Men.

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