Cameroon broke away late from Rwanda, securing a 57-45 triumph for its first win in Group B of the 2023 FIBA World Cup African Qualifiers, Sunday (Manila time) at Dakar Arena in Diamniadio, Senegal.
Down 32-31 early in the final frame, Ben Mbala cleaned up a Junior Mbida miss to put life in the stagnant Indomitable Lions offense.
The Rwandans kept fighting back, though, staying within range of Cameroon until halfway through the last quarter.
Holding a 46-43 lead, Arnaud William Adala Moto fired a triple. That kickstarted a 7-0 spurt to take control of the game for good.
After scoring 12 points yesterday versus Tunisia, Mbala ended up with just four points and four rebounds in the contest.
Moto topscored for Cameroon with 16 points built on four triples.
Cameroon remained at third place in the group with an identical 1-1 slate with Tunisia, who lost to South Sudan earlier in the day, 72-64. Rwanda fell to 0-2.
Dieudonne Ndayisaba Ndizeye led Rwanda with 12 points. Meanwhile, Kendall Gray added 10 points and nine rebounds.
Cameroon closes out the window tomorrow against South Sudan.
