Egypt delivered the biggest surprise of the second round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup African qualifiers on Thursday, beating Senegal in Dakar to end the hosts' five-game winning run. Despite arriving with a 3-3 record, the Egyptians refused to play the role of underdogs and overturned a four-point deficit after the opening quarter to take control of the contest.
Defence was the foundation of Egypt's win. Senegal managed only 24 shots from 70 attempts, while Egypt's taller line-up dominated the boards 53-45, including 23 offensive rebounds. Brancou Badio was forced out of his rhythm and missed all 11 of his three-point attempts, finishing with nine points, his lowest total of the qualifying campaign so far.
Guard Adam Moussa came off the bench to score 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting, providing the spark Egypt needed. The 2.13m duo of Anas Mahmoud and Omar Oraby combined for 20 rebounds and 28 points between them. Egypt still committed 18 turnovers and made only six of 13 free throws.
"We knew these were matches we had to win. We knew what to expect in terms of atmosphere, so we decided to simply play as a team and take things as they came," Moussa said. Coach Agusti Julbe added: "We prepared several tactical plans that worked well, but without the hard work and commitment of our players, those ideas would not have paid off."
The result, Egypt's second win over a host nation in the campaign after beating Angola last month, leaves Senegal at 5-2 and Egypt at 4-3 in Group F.
