Guinea has advanced to the quarterfinals of the FIBA AfroBasket 2021.
Guinea came from down to stun Rwanda, 72-68, thanks to a fourth-quarter offensive explosion in which the side scored 28 points while holding their opponents to 14.
Mohamed Queta stepped off the bench and turned into the star of the show knocking down a couple of 3s that broke Rwanda’s back in the fourth quarter.
Guinea played exceptional defense through seven minutes of the fourth quarter while chipping away at Rwanda’s double-digit lead and came with two points on Queta’s 3-pointer forcing Cheikh Sarr into a time out. On return, Queta tipped in Cedric Mansare’s missed 3 to tie the game at 61 and momentum switched completely as Queta hit another three-ball for the lead, 64-61, with 2:11.
Kenneth Gasana made a tough lay-up in traffic but at the other end Abdoulaye Sy (12 points, 6 rebounds) responded and Rwanda was all but done.
Despite struggling to shoot from the floor, Mansare scored team-high 16 points, 8 coming from a perfect shooting on the line. Cheick Sekou Conde added 15 points while Queta contributed an important 13 points.
Gasana poured in game-high 28 points in a losing effort as the hosts suffered an early exit from the tournament. Prince Ibeh (10 points, 8 rebounds) was the only other Rwanda player to score in double figures.
Guinea will take on Cote d’Ivoire in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
