Qatar had mixed luck in the 3x3 basketball competition of the ongoing ANOC World Beach Games at Katara Beach.
While they played impressively to defeat Togo in a late match, they were beaten by Ivory Coast earlier in the evening.
Securing a comfortable 15-10 win against Togo, the hosts Qatar displayed their supremacy throughout the game. In the absence of captain Nedim Muslic, who hurt his shoulder in the second game of the FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup in China, Ndoye Elhadj Seydou, a 20-year-old dynamic player in the paint, led the four-member Qatar squad, which included Aladji Bobo, Raslan al-Abdulla, and Faisal Abuissa.
Despite dropping their first match against Ivory Coast 18-13, Qatar went on to win the second as key player Aladji Bobo scored an impressive 7 points, while captain Ndoye Elhadj Seydou contributed 4 points to ensure an emphatic victory against Togo.
For the Togo side, Zotchi Yao scored 4 points while Kpodar Jean and Koffi Asai scored 3 points respectively.
Earlier, Ivory Coast defeated Qatar 18-13 in a match witnessed by a packed crowd. Ivory Coast’s captain Guede Jules Junior scored 6 points, while forward Diarra Ismael scored 5 for his side.
Commenting on the impressive start, Ivory Coast captain Jules said, “When you play against the home team, you have to play twice as hard to win. We knew that the match would be difficult, but we manage to get a big win. We are now focusing on our next match”.
Ivory Coast player Diarra Ismael added, “We thought from the beginning that we can overplay our opponents in the manner of athleticism. So, we just had to be mentally prepared and not to lose our head in the first minutes. When we did hit some shots from long distance, the things got easier for us.”
scores
Qatar 15 (Aladji Bobo 7, Ndoye Elhadj Seydou 4, Abdulla Raslan 3, Abuissa Faisal 1)
Togo 10 ( Zotchi Yao 4, Kpodar Jean 3, Koffi Asai 3)
Ivory Coast 18 (Guede Jules Junior 6, Kouassi Severin 4, Diarra Ismael 5, Konate Lassina 3)
Qatar 13 (Seydou Ndoye Elhadj 1, Abuissa Faisal 6, Magassa Bobo 4, Abdulla Raslan 2)
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