Morocco’s U18 basketball team triumphed over South Africa 66-31 on Friday, advancing to the quarter-finals of FIBA U18 AfroBasket 2024 held in Pretoria, South Africa.
Morocco opened the game with 11 points in a row as Omar Karem and Rayane Solhi each made three consecutive three-pointers. The South African squad appeared to lose momentum after that.
They would have an even more challenging match as Omar Karem and Rayane Solhi scored 12 and 8 points in the opening quarter, respectively.
By halftime, Morocco had widened the lead to 39-19, maintaining a strong advantage throughout the match.
The whole difference would be made in the fourth quarter, as Morocco would execute a defensive masterwork to keep South Africa to just four points the entire quarter while scoring 19 points themselves. Teammate Rayane Solhi finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 steals, while Omar Karem finished with a game-high 26 points.
After the game, Morocco’s star Noah El Baze stated to Africa Basket: “It was a tough one but we managed to bounce back and qualify for the quarter-finals… we forgot about things like stats and that really helped us play as a unit and you can see that by the results.”
In their first game of Group C, Morocco beat Zambia 84-67, followed by a narrow loss to Rwanda, 55-51.
Morocco now tops Group B, ahead of Rwanda, Zambia, and South Africa, securing their spot in the quarter-finals.
The tournament features 12 teams split into three groups. The top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-placed teams, will qualify for the quarter-finals scheduled for September 11.
Groups:
– Group A: Tunisia, Cameroon, Rwanda, South Africa
– Group B: Angola, Mali, Morocco, Zambia
– Group C: Uganda, Egypt, Nigeria, Zimbabwe