DAKAR (Senegal) – The duo Claude Chris Lutete and Jordan Sakho continued their remarkable run in the AfroBasket 2025 qualifiers, leading the Democratic Republic of Congo to a 74-65 victory over Morocco on Saturday in Dakar.
Lutete and Jordan scored more than half of the 74 points to help the “Leopards” improve to 2-0 ahead of Sunday’s highly anticipated clash against another undefeated team, South Sudan (2-0).
Lutete was phenomenal, hitting 6 of 10 shots from behind the arc to finish with a game-high 27 points. He came within two rebounds of a double-double, while Sakho managed to score 7 of 9 near the basket to finish with 16 points and 6 rebounds.
Morocco’s leading scorer, Kevin Franceschi, finished 0-7, but remained confident going into the final match against Mali. “We need to perform better. They [le Mali] are 0-2 like us, but we will do everything we can to win.”
THE TURNING POINT OF THE MATCH: The five lead changes in the first quarter and the eight in the second perfectly illustrate the intention of both teams to finish with victory.
However, keeping Morocco scoreless for almost five minutes while going on a 10-0 run in the third quarter proved crucial for Michel Perrin’s men, who went down against Morocco in the FIBA AfroCan 2023 semi-final in Angola.
Lutete scored a three-pointer at the buzzer that allowed the DRC to return to the locker room with a 41-39 lead. Although Morocco fought to change the course of events, the DRC maintained their composure until the end of the match.
THE HEROES: Whatever happens in DR Congo’s match against South Sudan on Sunday – the last in the second leg of the AfroBasket 2025 qualifiers – Lutete and Sakho will likely be remembered as the players who changed the course of the game of the Congolese team.
THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE: Morocco repeatedly tried to remedy their offensive difficulties by increasing their three-point attempts, which proved costly as they finished 5 of 20 from behind the arc, but it was a poor performance by Franceschi (zero points in 27 minutes on the floor) who did the most harm to Morocco.
The DRC improved its score to 2-0 after a close victory over Morocco.
The DRC improved its score to 2-0 after a close victory over Morocco.
The DRC improved its score to 2-0 after a close victory over Morocco.
The DRC improved its score to 2-0 after a close victory over Morocco.
The DRC improved its score to 2-0 after a close victory over Morocco.
The DRC improved its score to 2-0 after a close victory over Morocco.
CONCLUSION : Saturday’s clash between the DRC and Morocco had nothing to do with the semi-final of AfroCan 2023, where Morocco won to win its first continental trophy.
It was a tough battle for most of the first two and fourth quarters, with Morocco giving their opponent a hard time.
However, as Franchesci admitted: “They made some important shots at critical moments in the match.”
While DR Congo improved to 2-0, Morocco fell to 0-2 with one match remaining in the first round of Group A.
THEY SAID: “The Moroccans failed to win in the third quarter. We didn’t make our shots. Tomorrow we have to bounce back. I hope we can get the victory we need. Sometimes, It’s not your day, you just have to try to find ways to help the team.” – Kevin Franceschi, back of Morocco.
FIBA
