FIBA Africa Championship 2011: Tunisia Shocks Angola For Gold, Wins Olympic Bid

Nigeria knocked off Cote d’Ivoire on Sunday to take third place at the 2011 FIBA Africa Championship in Madagascar. Along with bronze, Nigeria earns a bid to the last-chance Olympic qualifying tournament.

Cote d’Ivoire had fallen to Tunisia in a heartbreaker on Saturday, and now looks to Afrobasket 2013 and a potential spot in the 2014 FIBA World Championship.

Tunisia will have a chance at its first-ever FIBA Africa Championship title after knocking off Cote d’Ivoire in a closely-fought semifinal match-up in Madagascar Saturday. Tunisia got through 60-57 in a game in which neither team led by more than nine points, with the Ivorians holding a one-point lead with just two minutes left.

But Tunisia took over from there, with the defense holding down Cote d’Ivoire’s attack and the Tunisians getting just enough offense to get by. Tunisian center Salah Mejri saved the day, grabbing two steals in the final 30 seconds and icing the game with two free throws to set the final score. He finished with 14 points on 5-6 shooting. Power forward Macram Ben Romdhane led Tunisia with 15 points.

Andrew Feinstein of SBNation.com and SB Nation’s Nuggets blog Denver Stiffs traveled to Madagascar with Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri and NBA Africa director Amadou Gallo Fall to see a round of the 2011 FIBA Africa Championship and learn about the past, present and future of African basketball. This is Andrew’s first report.

ANTANANARIVO, MADAGASCAR -- Flying from Denver to Antananarivo, Madagascar, is an awfully long way to go to watch a few basketball games. But, of course, I’m here for more than just the basketball.

The final four of the 2011 FIBA Africa Championship have been decided, with a trip to the 2012 London Olympics on the line. Perennial African champion Angola needed two overtimes to get past a surprising Cameroon squad in the round of eight, as Cameroonian Franck Ndongo fouled Angola’s Carlos Morais with his team up one and two seconds left. Morais hit both and Angola moved on.

Angola entered the tournament on a 10-year unbeaten streak in continental competition, but lost to Senegal in group play. But Senegal burned out in the knockouts, falling hard to Cote d’Ivoire, who will now face Tunisia on Saturday for a spot in the finals. Nigeria will face Angola in the other semifinal. The championship and bronze games will be played Sunday.

The 16-team knockout bracket has been set for the 2011 FIBA Africa Championship, with action getting underway on Tuesday in Madagascar. The teams on Monday finished a group play exercise that resulted in no eliminations but set the seeding for the knockout round.

Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia are the top seeds heading into the knockouts. Angola, Africa’s lone 2008 Beijing Olympic competitor and the 2009 FIBA Africa champion, lost to Senegal in group play and faces a tougher path to London. Cote d’Ivoire and Tunisia finished second and third behind Angola in the 2009 tournament; Cote d’Ivoire will face Rwanda before a likely showdown with Senegal, while Tunisia draws South Africa before the winner of Mali-Morocco. Angola begins the knockouts against Mozambique.