The second phase of the 2023 FIBA World Cup for the Africa Zone took place in Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire), Alexandria (Egypt), and Kigali (Rwanda) from 1-3 July and saw the participation of 16 national sides. Full Court Press will have a look at who were the top performing teams during this round of play

South Sudan’s fairy tale continues

South Sudan is a side which has caused a lot of excitement and disruption on the African basketball landscape over the past year. South Sudan, which only became FIBA affiliated in 2013, has been the most dominant side throughout these qualifiers. The South Sudanese finished 6-0, and in the process defeated back-to-back Afrobasket champion Tunisia in the process, while also making easy work of Cameroon and Rwanda to end top of Group B. The team which has an exciting and determined core led by Kuany Kuany, Deng Acuoth and Nuni Omot, looks like its on the way to making history and qualifying for the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Significant credit should be given to South Sudanese coach Royal Ivey, a former NBA player and current assistant with the Brooklyn Nets, who has been able to make remarkable strides with the team, since the 2021 Afrobasket tournament. South Sudan’s basketball story is just beginning and with the plethora of South Sudanese based across Australia, Canada, Europe, and the United States, it seems like theirs will be a good story to tell.

Cote d’Ivoire stays undefeated

Cote d’Ivoire finished this phase of World Cup Qualifiers on top of C, with a 6-0 record. Les Elephants, who qualified for the FIBA World Cup in 2010 and 2019, gave their home fans in Abidjan a treat, defeating Angola 75-73 in a nail biter, which was followed by comfortable wins over Guinea and Central Africa Republic (CAR). Although Cote d’Ivoire was missing star playmaker Souley Diabate, who won his second BAL championship with US Monastir in May, as well as the 41-year-old ageless wonder Stephane Konate, players such as, Vafessa Fofana, Guy Edi, Maxence Dadiet and former San Antonio Spurs player Matt Costello, led the charge for the Elephants during these three games. However, the most exciting player to feature during this phase was 19-year-old phenom, Assemian Moualre. The 6’2 guard, who currently plays for French Pro A side Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitens, electrified the crowd with a 25-point performance in his sides win against Angola. Moulare, who was born in France and made his debut for Cote d’Ivoire in 2019, for the U-16 national side, is a good outsider, who can get to basket and an excellent ball handler. His quickness also gives him significant potential to become a great defender. Heading into the August phase of qualifiers, which will take place in Abidjan, Les Elephants look like they’re on the path to securing a second straight World Cup birth.

Cape Verde emerges top of Group A

Cape Verde is another big surprise of the second window of qualifiers, finishing top of Group A, with a 3-1 record, including two wins over continental powerhouse Nigeria. Cape Verde’s 7’3 talisman Walter “Edy” Tavares, was the team’s standout player for this round averaging 18 ppg and 9.5 rbds, including a perfect 8 for 8 from the field in the 87-78 win over Uganda. This performance was the icing on the cake for Tavares who was recently named Liga ACB finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) with Real Madrid. Besides Tavares, which finished fourth at Afrobasket 2021, players such as Williams Tavares, SL Benefica player Ivan Almeida and his brother Joel Almeida of FAP de Yaounde, Cape Verde also made major contributions for Cape Verde during this phase of qualifiers. Heading into the third phase of play, Cape Verde has a seemingly realistic chance to earn one of the five spots up for grabs for the 2023 FIBA World Cup allotted to Africa.

The Pharoah’s put on a show in Alexandria

The Pharoah’s are an enigma of African basketball. On a good day, they play like a world class side and another day, they’ll play otherwise. You never know what you’ll get from the Egyptians, and this was once more the case for the Pharoah’s who ended the second phase of qualifiers 5-1, after earning three wins against Senegal, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and earning first place in Group D. All three victories were above the 30 points and gave an already enthusiastic home crowd in Alexandria even more to be happy about. Egypt was led by one of the best continental based players, 2021 BAL defensive player of the year with Zamalek, Anas Mahmoud, who ended this phase of qualifiers averaging 11.3 ppg and 5.3 rbds. His two-way play was replicated by 6’9 big man Assam Marei, who chipped in 10.7 ppg and 9 rbds. Egypt does not play a flashy brand of basketball; however, they are efficient and if they replicate their second phase efforts in the next round, they will have a great chance of making it to the FIBA World Cup for the first time since 2014.

Nigeria advances despite multitude of challenges

The Nigerian men’s basketball team managed to dig themselves out of grave which their basketball and state authorities dug for them, by finishing second in Group A play and thus qualifying for the second round of the World Cup Qualifiers. Nigeria’s 2-2 record is not a reflection of the country’s status as Africa’s highest best team based on FIBA rankings. However, it has been a rocky 12 months for the D’Tigers who to be on the pathway towards asserting themselves as global basketball giants after earning a historic 90-87 victory over the United States in July 2021. However, since that stellar achievement, things have been rocky for Africa’s highest ranked FIBA men’s side. After losing all three games at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. At Afrobasket 2021, a largely inexperienced Nigerian side was knocked out in the preliminary knockout stage, after losing to Uganda. The D’Tigers appeared to be on the path to redeeming themselves after securing two wins out of three matches during the first round of World Cup Qualifying fixtures that took place in Angola in February. However, in a bombshell development, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the withdrawal of Nigeria from all international basketball competitions for a period of two years in May. The Nigerian head of state reversed this decision on 17 June, but it meant the Nigerian side had lost precious time to put together a squad ahead of the second window of World Cup Qualifying fixtures. A hastily put together squad which was headlined by 6’11 Sacramento Kings player Chimezie Metu. After an 87-78 loss to Cape Verde in their first fixture and a win by forfeit over Mali, followed by a 91-72 victory over Uganda, Nigeria punched their ticket to round two. Despite this triumph, Nigeria’s status as Africa’s most talented team will continue to be compromised if the sport administration does not ge its act together. The D’Tiger’s will face an uphill struggle going into round two, as they will be up against more cohesive sides including Cote d’Ivoire, Angola, and Cape Verde, who have already beat them twice in 2022.