Angola bounced back from narrow defeats to Senegal, Egypt and Mali with a commanding 91-71 win over Côte d'Ivoire in Dakar, handing the Ivorians their heaviest loss in close to a decade. Côte d'Ivoire, who had entered Sunday as Group F front-runners on a 7-1 record, dropped to 7-2 as Angola improved to 6-3.
Their previous loss by 21 points or more came at the 2017 AfroBasket, an 81-60 group-stage defeat to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, followed by a 92-63 exit against Mali. Angola seized the lead early in the first quarter and never trailed again, building a margin that peaked at 28 points. The 70 points conceded by Côte d'Ivoire was their lowest output of the current campaign.
Aggressive defence powered the result, with Angola collecting 13 steals, forcing 21 turnovers, grabbing 21 offensive rebounds and taking 32 more shots than their opponents. Childe Dundao led Angola with 15 points, with five teammates also reaching double figures. Angola turned the frustration of an 84-82 loss to Senegal less than 24 hours earlier into a convincing response.
"They played better than us. It was a tough game for us. We couldn't keep up with their intensity. They played great defense. They forced us into 21 turnovers and got 21 offensive rebounds. They also took 32 more shots than us. That was the biggest difference between the two teams. I hope we can learn from this game," said Côte d'Ivoire head coach Miguel Ramos.
