Walter Tavares suffered his first loss in the Afrobasket. Cape Verde fell to Congo (66-70), in a game that the Congolese team dominated almost from start to finish. The Cape Verdean Giant, with permission from Real Madrid to play this championship, showed a more earthly version than the one on the first day.
Tavares went to rest with 4 points and 5 rebounds and finished the game with 9 (4/6 in shots and 1/1 in free), 10 rebounds and 4 blocks for a PIR of 21 in 32 minutes on track. Some more discreet numbers than those of his debut against Angola, when he went to 20 goals (6/7 in shots of two and 8/14 in free shots), 18 rebounds, 3 steals and 6 caps (39 valuation). Joel Almeida (18) and Ivan Almeida (16) were the top scorers for Cape Verde. On the Congo’s side, Henry Pwono (19) stood out.
Cape Verde continues to aspire to finish first in the group (and go straight to the quarterfinals), despite the loss. The second and third of each group (there are four of four teams each) must play a previous tie. The next match for Cape Verde will be this Saturday (18:00) against Rwanda. Tavares’ selection returns to an Afrobasket six years later (he missed the 2017 and 2019 appointments). His best position was a bronze medal in 2007.
