Angola, Nigeria reach AfroBasket final
Nigeria will meet AfroBasket's dominant side Angola in the final of the continental championships.
AfroBasket's most successful nation Angola qualified for their ninth straight final in Tunisia on Saturday, while Nigeria ended a 12-year wait to play in the decider.
Up against the hosts and in a rematch of the 2011 final, which Angola lost, Moncho Lopez's side kept Tunisia to less than 10 points in the opening two quarters to set up their seven-point win in a tight semi-final.
Carlos Morais and captain Eduardo Mingas were joint top-scorers for Angola with 14 points each, which Tunisia's Makrem Ben Romdhane notched 12 for the home team.
Tunisia trailed 24-15 at half-time after scoring just nine and six in the first two terms, and although they surged in the second half, they could not catch Angola.
It means Angola - 11-time African basketball champions - will challenge for their 12th title in 14 tournaments when they take on Nigeria on Sunday.
Nigeria had not reached an AfroBasket final since 2003 - when they lost 85-65 to Angola - but overcame Senegal 88-79 in overtime to end that drought.
Senegal edged the middle two quarters to lead 66-60 with a term to play in Rades but Nigeria outscored their West African rivals 19-13 in the fourth period to force overtime.
Nigeria dominated the extra period to cruise to an 11-point victory.
Chamberlain Oguchi led Nigeria with 28 points, while Olaseni Lawal (17 points, 11 rebounds) and Al-Farouq Aminu (10, 10) both registered double-doubles.
Gorgiu Dieng continued his strong tournament with 20 points and 16 rebounds for Senegal.
Nigeria had fallen at the semi-final stage of two of the past five AfroBasket tournaments, while they have lost their two past finals to Angola.
In AfroBasket's 43-year history, Nigeria have never won a title.