Cote d’Ivoire back to winning ways with low scoring victory over Angola

BENGUELA (Angola) – It’s taken Cote d’Ivoire three quarters to figure out why Angola slaughtered them in the opening two quarters, but when they did it, the Ivorians silenced an enthusiastic home crowd at Acacias Rubras Arena in Benguela on Friday.
Angola kept Cote d’Ivoire scoreless for the first seven minutes of the game while embarking on a 16-0 run , which was sparked by a combination of three-pointers from Childe Dundao and Islando Manuel and an aggressive and suffocating defensive game that made Angola a dominant force in Africa in 1990s and early 2000s.

At some point, it looked as if the game would end up in a blowout win for Angola, but Cote d’Ivoire’s determination and combative spirit proved too much for an Angolan squad searching for its new identity.
Cote d’Ivoire took the low-scoring win 57-56 to take the lead in Group C before they face Guinea and Central African Republic.
With the win, Cote d’Ivoire returned to winning ways in Africa after losing to Tunisia in the AfroBasket 2021 final three months ago in Kigali.
Reserves Maxence Dadiet and Souleyman Diabate proved to be the game-changers for the Ivoirians.
Dadiet scored nine of his game-high 15 points in the final quarter, including a decisive tip-in with six seconds left and Diabate buried three of his four three-pointers to finish with 15 points as the Ivorians improved their African basketball record to 12-1 dating back to the AfroBasket 2021 Qualifiers.
Although all Angolans scored at least two points each, no-one scored in double figures.
: Teotonio Do hit two three-pointers later in the game to give Angola a 56-51 lead, but that was the last time Angola would score as Cote d’Ivoire outscored Angola 6-0 in the waning minutes of the game.
Few expected that a team that trailed by 17 would retake the lead, control the game and close it out in a remarkable way, but Cote d’Ivoire did just that.
After Stephane Konate missed a three-pointer and Angola failed to box out, Maxence Dadiet easily tipped in the game winner with just six seconds left.
Dadiet finished with a joint game-high 15 points and four rebounds.
Angola turned the ball over 25 times, and to make matters worse, their bench was outscored 42-22.
It remains to be known why Angola insisted on attempting so many three-pointers (42) even after going 0-13 in the second quarter. Angola attempted more three-pointers than two-point shots.
: It was these two former African champions’ meeting since Angola upset Cote d’Ivoire in the Semi-Final of the AfroBasket 2013 in Abidjan, but on Friday, the Ivorians returned the favor beating Angola in front of their home crowd.
The difference between Angola and Cote d’Ivoire in this game was the Ivorians’ cold-blood mindset even when they looked to have their backs against the wall later in the game.
(Gerson Lukeny, Angola) – “We started strong but in the second half we lacked our concentration. That was crucial in our defeat. Now we have to raise our heads up and move on. [About Angola 25 turnovers]: That happened because we lacked concentration in the key moments of the game.
Ignacio Lezcano (Cote d’Ivoire head coach) – ” It was a very difficult game. At the beginning of the first quarter we didn’t understand the level of the game. We let them play easy on offense and we couldn’t score. We didn’t play our game, our natural game. After that, we understood much better what was going on. We were able to get into the game. At the end, we were lucky to have won the game. I have to congratulate my players because they had a great effort – mentally and physically. And we are happy to win this game against Angola in Angola, which is very difficult.”