Abouo and Cote d'Ivoire Finish Second at Afrobasket

Abouo Scores Nine as Cote d’Ivoire Falls to Angola in Afrobasket Final

TRIPOLI -- Cote d’Ivoire fell 82-72 to Angola in the Afrobasket final on Saturday in a tightly contested game. The Elephants’ second-place finish is their best since 1983 when they won the tournament.

Cote d’Ivoire led 19-15 after the first quarter and 35-34 at the half before Angola came back in the second half. BYU’s Charles Abouo scored nine points off the bench for Cote d’Ivoire while hitting 3-of-5 from the field, including 2-of-4 from downtown. For the tournament he averaged 5.2 points and 2.2 rebounds. Abouo shot 46.9 percent from the field and 38.1 percent on threes.

Cote d’Ivoire was the final team to qualify from Group E and defeated the first (Senegal) and third-place teams (Cameroon) from Group F to advance to the title game. The Elephants finish the tournament with a 5-4 record and a spot in the 2010 World Championships in Turkey.

Click here to view the game story vs. Angola on the official FIBA Afrobasket Libya 2009 site.

Click here to view the box score vs. Angola.

Cote d’Ivoire to Play for Afrobasket Championship

TRIPOLI -- Cote d’Ivoire defeated Cameroon 68-61 in the semifinals of Afrobasket 2009 to advance to the championship against Angola on Saturday.

With the win the Elephants has secured at least a second-place finish and have locked up a spot in the 2010 World Championships in Turkey.

Cote d’Ivoire was the final team to qualify from Group E and has since defeated the first (Senegal) and third-place teams (Cameroon) from Group F to advance to the title game.

BYU’s Charles Abouo played three minutes in the victory. Saturday’s meeting with Angola will be a rematch for the Elephants. Angola is undefeated in Afrobasket 2009 and defeated Cote d’Ivoire 88-61 in pool play.

Click here to view the game story vs. Cameroon on the official FIBA Afrobasket Libya 2009 site.

Click here to view the box score vs. Cameroon.

Cote d’Ivoire Defeats Senegal to Advance to Afrobasket Semis

TRIPOLI -- Cote d’Ivoire defeated Senegal 84-78 in the quarterfinals of Afrobasket 2009 and is now one win from qualifying for the 2010 World Championships in Turkey.

Cote d’Ivoire led 48-34 at the half and held off a Senegal rally to secure the victory. BYU’s Charles Abouo scored all six of his points in the first half to help the Ivoires build a big lead. He added four rebounds and two steals in 20 minutes of action.

The semifinals will be played on Friday with Cote d’Ivoire facing Cameroon. The winner will face the winner of Angola vs. Tunisia on Saturday with the losing teams playing Saturday for third and fourth place.

Click here to view the game story vs. Senegal on the official FIBA Afrobasket Libya 2009 site.

Click here to view the box score vs. Senegal.

Abouo Scores 15 as Cote d'Ivoire Defeats Egypt

BENGHAZI -- Charles Abouo had his best game at Afrobasket 2009 with 15 points and six rebounds to help lead Cote d’Ivoire to an 80-64 victory over Egypt on Tuesday.

Abouo’s 15 points and six boards were both personal bests for the BYU sophomore guard. The 15 points were a team high for Cote d’Ivoire against Egypt. Abouo hit 5-of-9 from the field—including 4-of-7 from downtown—and added two assists and one steal.

With the win Cote d’Ivoire improves to 3-3 overall and retains hope to move on to the next round of Afrobasket as the top four teams from each group advance. The top three finishers at Afrobasket secure a bid to the 2010 World Championships in Turkey.

Cote d’Ivoire will find out its next opponent following the results of Tuesday’s games. A fourth-place finish for Cote d’Ivoire would pit the Ivoires against the first-place team from Group F. If Cote d’Ivoire finishes outside the top four it would play in the classification round on Thursday.

Click here to view the game story vs. Eygpt on the official FIBA Afrobasket Libya 2009 site.

Click here to view the box score vs. Eygpt.

Cote d'Ivoire Falls to 0-2 in Second Round

BENGHAZI -- Cote d’Ivoire lost its second-straight game in the second round of pool play, losing 88-61 against Angola on Monday.

BYU’s Charles Abouo had one of his best games of the tournament in the loss, scoring seven points on 3-of-4 shooting. Abouo added two rebounds in 15 minutes of playing time.

Cote d’Ivoire will conclude pool play against Egypt on Tuesday. Click here to view the group standings and click here to view the schedule.

Click here to view the game story vs. Angola on the official FIBA Afrobasket Libya 2009 site.

Click here to view the box score vs. Angola.

Cote d'Ivoire Falls to Mali

BENGHAZI -- Cote d’Ivoire lost its first game of the second round of pool play on Sunday, falling to Mali 71-58. BYU’s Charles Abouo played three minutes in the loss.

Click here to view the game story vs. Mali on the official FIBA Afrobasket Libya 2009 site.

Click here to view the box score vs. Mali.

Cote d'Ivoire Advances to Second Round

BENGHAZI -- Cote d’Ivoire defeated South Africa 94-57 to claim second in the Group A standings and advance to the second round of FIBA Afrobasket 2009.

BYU’s Charles Abouo had his best game of the tournament, scoring eight points to go with three rebounds, two assists and three steals

Second round action begins on Sunday. Cote d’Ivoire will face off against the second-place team from Group B. Click here to view the standings.

Click here to view the game story vs. South Africa on the official FIBA Afrobasket Libya 2009 site.

Click here to view the box score.

Cote d'Ivoire Evens Record with 73-64 Victory over Libya

BENGHAZI -- Cote d’Ivoire defeated Libya 73-64 to improve to 1-1 at FIBA Afrobasket 2009. Cote d’Ivoire is now second in the Group A standings.

BYU’s Charles Abouo played six minutes and had one rebound. Abouo and Cote d'Ivoire will return to action on Thursday against South Africa.

Click here to view the game story vs. Libya on the official FIBA Afrobasket Libya 2009 site.

Click here to view the box score.

Cote d'Ivoire Drops Opener to Nigeria

BENGHAZI -- On the first day of FIBA Afrobasket Libya 2009 (Africa Championships) Cote d'Ivoire fell 93-84 to Nigeria in a Group A matchup.

Cougar Charles Abouo scored two points and grabbed three rebounds in six minutes of action. Abouo and Cote d'Ivoire will return to action on Thursday against Libya.

Click here to view the game story vs. Nigeria on the official FIBA Afrobasket Libya 2009 site.

Click here to view the box score.

For more information on Afrobasket Libya 2009, visit the official site and the schedule.

Click here to view Abouo’s tournament stats.