Democratic Republic of Congo has emerged winners of the first ever FIBA AfroCan Basketball Tournament after beating Kenya 82-61 in the final game played on Saturday, July 27 in Bamako, Mali.
The newly introduced tournament was created to give extra opportunities to African players plying their trade on the continent though each of the 12 participating had the chance to add two foreign based players to its roster.
Congo’s big win ensured the Leopards ended the competition without losing a game beating heavyweights like Angola en route to winning the title.
Kenya’s main threats Tylor Ongwae and Erick Mutoro produced 21 and 15 points respectively but had little help from the rest of the team as not other player scored in double figures.
Led by Maxi Shamba’s 20 points, Congo had three other players score in double figures to walk away with an easy win in the final game.
Shamba was named Most Valuable Player of the Tournament after averaging 18.3 points, 5.3 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game.
Angola beat Morocco 88-71 to win bronze.
By Yaw Adjei-Mintah
@YawMintYM on Twitter
