Basketball

Nigeria wins AfroBasket 2015

Nigeria wins AfroBasket 2015

Nigeria on Sunday defeated Angola 74-65 in the AfroBasket 2015 Final in Rades – on the outskirts of Tunis – to clinch their first-ever continental championship title.

Shooting guard Chamberlain Oguchi was rewarded for his impressive tournament and a huge individual performance in the Final by receiving the Most Valuable Player award.

0guchi hit a trifecta of three-pointers on his way to a game-high 19 points and also grabbed 7 rebounds.

The 29-year-old headlined the All-Star Five which also included his Nigeria teammate Al-Farouq Aminu, Carlos Morais of Angola, Tunisia’s Makram Ben Romdhane and Gorgui Dieng of Senegal.

Angola went into the game looking to win a 12th African title, but some poor shooting boosted Nigeria’s confidence as they led by as many as 19 points.

Paced by Oguchi and Olaseni Lawal, Will Voigt’s team closed their campaign with a 6-1 mark, while the Angolans return home with a 5-2 record.

Despite a modest shooting night, Carlos Morais led the Angolans with 15 points, Yanick Moreira added 13 and Braulio Morais, who fouled out, contributed a dozen off the bench.

The Angolans jumped to an early 7-1 lead in the opening seven minutes of the game, but the Nigerians’ team rotation made the difference as they turned the score around in the second quarter.

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Angola’s 12 personal fouls in the second quarter allowed Nigeria to go to the free-throw line 16 times, dealing a big blow to the 2013 champions.

Lawal proved too much for the Angolans as he dominated the painted area with 12 points and 5 offensive rebounds.

Usually, a poor free-throw shooter, he made all six of his attempts from the foul line.

In being crowned African champions, the Nigerians also qualified for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

In the tournament third-place game, Tunisia held off Senegal 82-73, and Michael Roll had the best performance of his international career with the tournament hosts.

Roll made 4 of his 8 three-point attempts to lead all scorers with 25 points as Tunisia bounced back from a disappointing Semi-Final clash against Angola on Saturday.

Senegal struggled to adjust to the Tunisian defense despite a tremendous effort from Antoine Mendy and Gorgui Dieng who combined for 38 points.

The Senegalese failed to match the third-place finish they achieved two years ago in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Tunisia played without star player Salah Mejri but stepped out on the court ready to do whatever was necessary to finish on the podium for the first time since they were crowned African champions four years ago in Antananarivo, Madagascar.

Meanwhile, second-place Angola joined third- and fourth-place Tunisia and Senegal in booking their places for the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQTs).

Final standings of AfroBasket 2015:

1. Nigeria

2. Angola

3. Tunisia

4. Senegal

5. Egypt

6. Algeria

7. Mali

8. Gabon

9. Cameroon

10. Cape Verde

11. Mozambique

12. Ivory Coast

13. Morocco

14. Central African Republic (CAF)

15. Uganda

16. Zimbabwe


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