U16 AfroBasket Men: Egypt Breeze Past Angola on the Way to the Semi-Finals

It was a slow start in Kigali, but the Egyptians eventually found their range and converted a three-pointer courtesy of Yahya Ammar to get things underway. Egypt quickly got off to a 5-0 lead that was short-lived as Angola went on a 7-0 run. Egypt regained the lead after Omar Khataby drained a three-pointer from a Karim Hendy pass.

We saw a few lead changes as the two teams traded baskets and left very little to separate them. However, Egypt caught wind in their sails late in the quarter to discard Fernando Joao’s three-pointer with one of Karim Hendy’s and a fastbreak floater by Ahmed Oraby to beat the buzzer and give them a 22-14 lead at the break.

Angola tried to build some momentum in the second quarter, but every attempt was deflated by either an Egyptian stop or basket. Hussain Youssef’s three-pointer was one such blow to the Angolan attempts. Shortly after, Angola went on a 10-1 run, following an impressive defensive spell that translated into their offense. They were back in the game with two and a half minutes to go and trailing Egypt by just one point.

That is when the tides turned in favor of Egypt as they scored three consecutive three-pointers to regain the lead. However, they were aware that this Angolan side would not go quietly into the night, and if they were to win this game, they would have to be more clinical. Angola then closed out the quarter with a strong defense, which led to a good offense, and they were able to bring the deficit back down to 5 points, with Egypt leading 37-32 at halftime.
 
Despite a strong finish in the second quarter and an opening lay-up in the third, North Africans took complete control of the quarter and were meticulous in their execution. They went on a 7-0 run where Yahya Ammar scored 5 points. Hussain Yousseff lined up a three-pointer that sparked a 9-0 Egyptian run and left the Angolans perplexed.

There was then a three-minute dry spell from both teams as it seemed the lid was closed on both hoops. Miguel Salabiaku then broke the deadlock with a put-back lay-up. Despite this, Yahya Ammar could not be stopped as he hit a three-pointer to beat the buzzer and close the quarter to give Egypt their biggest lead yet of 18 points with the score at 58-40.
 
The fourth quarter was a slow and low-scoring quarter with both teams scoring a total of 22 points. It was evenly split at 11 apiece. They both played good defense, but Egypt remained in control and secured a 69-51 win to book themselves a ticket to the semi-finals.

Vanilson Domingos of Angola had a stellar performance with 19 points and eight rebounds, but it was not enough to take down this Egyptian side. Egypt had three players in double digits for scoring: Omar Khataby with 16 points and five rebounds, Yahya Ammar with 14 points and five steals, and Hussain Youssef with 12 points.

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[Photography Courtesy of FIBA]