Dakar, August 14 (APS) – The coach of the Senegal men’s national basketball team, Ngagne Desagana Diop, said Wednesday in Dakar that he was satisfied with the double friendly confrontation of his players with Tunisia, despite their defeat (60- 65) in the second meeting.
“This is a positive result […] I am satisfied. Today, the players are fighting and the defense is good in place,” Diop reacted, noting that he is playing in a young team, which many executives do not have.
The selection of the Senegalese lost to Tunisia, 60 points out of 65, during the second friendly match, which, like the first, took place in Dakar.
The Lions of Senegal dominated their opponent on Monday, 66 points to 64.
The Senegalese and Tunisians play this double friendly confrontation to prepare for the planned Afrobasket 2025 qualifiers from November 22 to 24, 2024 in Dakar. Senegal will play against Rwanda, Gabon and Cameroon.
The men’s Afrobasket will be held in Luanda, the capital of Angola, in August next year.
”The players are still young. They make a lot of mistakes in the game. They also lack the skill of three-point shots. This exercise is not our strong point. We know this. We will continue to work,” said Ngagne Desagana Diop.
The former Senegalese center believes that the two friendly matches will be useful and will allow him to prepare well for the qualifiers.
Tunisia coach Mehdy Mary is happy with the good progress in both games. “We know ourselves in this environment. We enjoy the atmosphere,” he said.
“Senegal rested some of its players. We were outnumbered in our first game, especially in the first half. In the second half, the Lions raised their level of play, so we struggled to respond,” Mary analyzed.
His team had “a lot of success in the first period, especially on three-point shots, but very little in the second period,” he said.
SK/ESF