2023 FIBA AfroCan: Morans edge past Nigeria to book Saturday's fifth place final

Player of the match Bramwel Mwombe scored a team high 13 points as Kenya Morans edged out Nigeria 61-59 in a positional playoff matchup played at the Kilamba Arena in Luanda, Angola.

The win for Kenya, which was their second in the second edition of the tournament that tipped off on Monday 10 June, meant that they had qualified to play in the final 5-6 position matchup scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

Then, Kenya is expected to play out against the winner of the other classification game between Angola and Tunisia.

“We looked back at the game we won against Ivory Coast and mirrored the basics,” a delighted Morans head coach Cliff Owuor said after the game, citing the improvements in his ranks - especially coming off two defeats to Morocco and Gabon respectively.

The fact that the 2019 silver medalists were missing the services of experienced forward Bush Wamukota and Eugene Adera gave more reasons to celebrate the win.

After falling behind 5-6 in the opening five minutes of the game, Kenya regained their lost mojo through the second unit of Ariel Ortega, Brian Shivachi and Bramwel Mwombe, as the home boys found way to take a commanding 17-9 lead, that ultimately saw the period culminate with the scores at 20-13.

A 18-13 second quarter advantage by Nigeria in the second quarter saw them closer by two at the break, trailing 33-31, before opening up to a 4-0 run that saw them take the lead midway through the third.

A close quarter paved way for a tense finish in the fourth, one that saw the duo of Ligare and Mwombe assert Kenya’s dominance early doors.

Ligare drew a foul as he attempted a deep shot on the right corner - making all free throws - and hit another from the wing - all in between two put-backs from Mwombe - that from a tied game, saw Kenya’s lead go up to nine, holding a 53-44 lead with just four minutes to play.

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A late rally by the West Africans, fuelled by Michael Daramola, couldn’t cut it however, as Victor Bosire took matters to his hands with a three and a couple of free throws to ace the win for Morans.

“I wouldn’t say I did this all alone,” Mwombe, who was tied on a total 13 points with Ligare, said. “It was a collective effort and goes a long way to show how well we are transitioning as a team.”

On to Saturday, where a win could see Morans finish fifth!